


Nico of the Angels

by HonorH



Series: The Sun Angel [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-05 12:40:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12794763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HonorH/pseuds/HonorH
Summary: The war had been going on for longer than Will Solace of House Apollo could remember. But then fate drops the enigmatic Prince Nicolas of Hades into his hospital, and Will finds something to think about that doesn't involve healing or the war.





	1. Nicolas of the Angels

**Author's Note:**

> Right, so this is an AU. Not my usual, but hey, everybody else is doing it. It's also first-person, which is not my usual for this fandom, but I found the story flowed better coming from Will. The basics of the Jovian Empire and the character backgrounds ought to be laid out clearly enough, or I haven't done my job. I decided to stick with sort of a generic fantasy setting, but with modern dialogue because it feels too weird to try to make these people formal. A few things I didn't lay out, just for fun:
> 
> Angelian = Italian  
> Aphroditan = French  
> Hephaestian = Spanish  
> The Old Tongue = Ancient Greek  
> The Common Tongue = Latin
> 
> This should be a one-shot, finished in three chapters. Those who know me might have doubts about that.
> 
> (Also, you might suspect, after reading some of my works, that I have a Thing for Nico with long hair and tats. You might be correct.)
> 
> Finally, I've gifted Nico my beloved Alaska as his home. It was the least I could do for him after the wringer I put him through here.

The war had been going for so long, I couldn’t properly remember a time before it. I’d been a child when Gaea’s forces had attacked, and the entire Jovian Empire had been drawn into the conflict.

I sighed tiredly as I washed my hands again. Once upon a time, I’d been a combat medic, but about a year ago, Master Chiron pulled me from the front, saying my healing powers were too strong and valuable to risk. I now worked as head healer in a field hospital on the border of my native Summerlands, healing soldiers so they could go out and put their lives on the line again.

“Are you feeling okay, sweetheart?” came my mother’s voice. Mama was a renowned troubadour, but like so many musicians and artists, she had taken up nursing duties in one of the many, many hospitals and infirmaries treating the wounded. She sometimes played and sang for the patients, and I was grateful for her calm, strong presence.

“I’m fine, Mama. Just tired.” I toweled off my hands and turned to face her. Like me, she had wavy blond hair and a bright smile, though I had my father’s blue eyes.

The war had taken my father, too.

I went back to my rounds. Soldiers filled the wards, Jovians in purple and gold, Neptunians in blue and bronze, and the occasional Selenite Sister in silver and white.

It was quiet at the moment, and I began a silent countdown in my head.

I wasn’t disappointed. About the time I reached “one,” my foster sister Kayla came running into the ward.

“Will! They need you in the OR,” she panted. “Some Hadean soldiers just got brought in.”

I was out the door, running for the OR before Kayla finished her sentence. Absently, it occurred to me that it was unusual to see Hadeans here at the edge of the Summerlands, but it certainly wasn’t unheard-of.

When I reached the OR, I was immediately grabbed by another healer, Victoria. “We’ve got one who needs you,” she said.

I knew what that meant. The other healers were skilled, but I had the strongest healing powers, and if I was specifically needed for one soldier, it meant that soldier was in the most serious danger.

I let Victoria lead me to an operating table where the other healers had laid one of the Hadeans. They’d stripped him to the waist, baring a number of deep wounds.

The Hadean soldiers all painted their faces white with black around the eyes, black slashes under the cheekbones, and black lips. It gave them an almost skeletal appearance. This particular soldier also had a blood-red line bisecting his face and neck from his hairline to his collar, which I knew meant he was an officer. In addition, he had swirling, black tattoos up and down his arms. I had the unnerving feeling that they were moving when I wasn’t looking directly at them.

All of this was taken in in a moment. I was mostly concerned about the injuries. I laid my hands on the soldier and concentrated, falling into a trance, stretching my senses into the soldier’s body . . .

The normal routine of healing was suddenly disrupted as an ethereal figure dragged me into darkness.

“Who are you?” it demanded.

It was something I had experienced before, but never quite so . . . confrontational. There were powerful Dreamers in the realm, ones who could communicate over great distances and draw others into their dreams. Most were of House Hypnos or House Morpheus. Some few Hadeans – and Chiron had cautioned me about this – also had unusually strong dream-selves, ones that would protect them when they were unconscious. This soldier must have been one of those few.

Being a healer took a strong mind. I was hard to rattle. 

“I’m a healer,” I told the soldier. “I’m here to help you.”

The dream-soldier seemed to consider this. “Where am I?”

“A field hospital.” I reached out to the soldier in my spirit. “My name is Will. What’s yours?”

I could feel the dream-soldier’s scrutiny. “Nico,” he finally said. “I’m Nico.”

“Nico, you’re badly injured. I’m the strongest healer here. I need you to let me heal you.” I tried to project as much confidence as I could. “You can rest. The other healers are taking care of your soldiers. Let me heal you.”

It worked. The dream-soldier released me, and I called light to myself and began healing his wounds.

***

_Once, there were three brothers. They were Zeus, Poseidon and Hades._

_The brothers found fair lands. Zeus, being the eldest, claimed the most beautiful and fertile lands for himself. Poseidon, a lover of the sea, took the coastal lands. Hades was left the north, the land of ice and snow and craggy mountains and rushing rivers._

_The brothers had many children. When they died, their eldest children took their names and their thrones. Generations passed, and some things changed. Wars were fought until finally, King Hades and Queen Poseidon pledged fealty to King Zeus, who became the Emperor Jupiter. The Jovian Empire was founded. The land of Poseidon became the Neptune Kingdom._

_But Hades never changed. Some say it is the land of night and dreams, others that it is the land of riches. And they are right._

_Those that say it is the land of death, however, are also right._

***

Healing Nico nearly depleted my already-short supply of energy. I had to be wise about it, healing the worst damage and giving the soldier the strength to recover. Nico would be sidelined from the war for a while, but he’d survive. That had to be enough, for now.

Still, my legs almost went out from underneath me when he was done. Victoria helped me into a chair.

“You need to get some rest,” she said.

I agreed. “I will. Put some extra sun crystals around this one in the recovery ward; there’s an unusual amount of darkness in his system. How are the other casualties?”

“Two were past saving, even by you,” said Victoria. “Of the survivors, he had the worst injuries. The others should hopefully pull through.”

Victoria pulled me to my feet, and she and my foster brother Austin (another troubadour taking up nursing duties) manhandled me into a private ward and deposited me on a bed. I was asleep before they left.

It seemed like only a moment later that Victoria shook me awake again, though in reality it had been several hours. Not enough to feel one hundred percent better, but at least it was something.

“Something wrong?” I asked muzzily.

Victoria was being uncharacteristically hesitant. “Um, General Reyna wants to talk to you.”

That brought me back to full wakefulness. “She asked for me personally?”

“She asked for the head healer. That’s you.”

“Did she look angry?”

Victoria hesitated again. “She looked . . . intense.”

I’d met General Reyna before. “Intense” was her default expression, and it could mean literally anything. “Okay. I’m up.”

I checked my reflection on the way out of the room. My hair had been known to look better, but knowing Reyna, she wouldn’t notice.

Reyna had become the youngest general in Jovian history. That was saying something, even if the average age of generals had taken a dive in recent years due to all the war casualties. She was a brilliant tactician as well as a ferocious warrior and charismatic leader. Why she’d chosen this day to invade my hospital was the real question.

I was fairly tall, and Reyna, still in full armor and the purple cloak signifying her rank, could look me straight in the eye as I approached her. She was a beautiful woman; partial as I was to male beauty, I could still appreciate hers. Her golden skin, dark eyes and shining black hair would have attracted attention anywhere.

And her piercing glare could chase just about anyone off. I wasn’t someone who was easily intimidated, but she just about managed it.

“General Reyna,” I said. “How can I help you?”

She didn’t bother greeting me back. “The prince – how is he?”

It was a complete non-sequitur as far as I was concerned. “Prince Jason?” I doubted Prince Perseus would be anywhere nearby, not as a naval commodore.

Reyna appeared confused by my confusion. “No, Prince Nicolas of Hades. I understand he was brought in earlier; I’d like to know how he is.”

I had met the crown princes of Neptune and Jupiter, Prince Perseus (Percy to his friends) and Prince Jason. They were both remarkable men. Jason was already a general, and he’d definitely earned his position. Percy was as fond of the sea as his ancestors (if not more), and it was said he spent more time on Neptune’s naval vessels than he did on land.

On the other hand, I had never met Prince Nicolas. It was well known that the prince was the one who’d convinced his father that the kingdom of Hades should take a more active role in the war. It was also well known that he was a deadly swordsman, rivaling (and possibly even surpassing) the other crown princes of the realm.

And just like that, facts crashed together in my brain. The officer I’d healed, who had the incredibly strong dream presence, and who had introduced himself as Nico . . .

“Vic, where did we put the officer I healed earlier?” I blurted.

“He’s in the east ward. Are you saying-”

“Yes, I am. General, this way, please.” I strode through the hospital to the east ward, which had been almost empty that morning. Now it was full of Hadeans. A few nurses, including my mother, were working among them.

It took me a moment to find Nico. He was the most heavily injured, so he’d rated a semi-private bed separated from the others with a curtain.

Mama was sitting with him, and she had just finished washing the war paint from his face. I approached.

“Hi, sweetie. Did you get a nap? Look at this one; he’s a beauty, isn’t he?” she said, because mothers have an unerring instinct for what will embarrass their kids.

Though there was no denying that Prince Nicolas was a beauty. His inky black hair contrasted with the moonlight-pale skin of his face and shoulders, and his features were strong-boned and perfectly balanced. As I looked at Nico’s sleeping face, I reflected on one of the names the prince was known by: Nicolas of the Angels.

“Mama, I’d like you to meet General Reyna,” I said, trying not to sound too strangled. “She’s here to visit Prince Nicolas of Hades.”

Mama stood and gave Reyna her most charming smile. “Hello, General. Prince Nicolas is here?”

“I believe you just washed his face,” said Reyna, sounding vaguely amused.

The look on Mama’s face was downright comical as she looked down at the prince, up at Reyna, and over at me, then made the circuit two more times before speaking. “This . . . this is the crown prince of Hades?”

“Indeed.” Reyna stepped closer and laid her hand on his forehead. It struck me as an uncharacteristically gentle gesture for the famed general. “How is he?”

“It’s as good a time as any for me to give him an exam. Mama, I need that seat.” She vacated the chair next to Nico’s bed, and I sat down in it. I laid one hand on Nico’s chest and took his hand with the other. Then I focused my mind and sank into a healing trance.

This time, I was prepared to be confronted by Nico’s dream-self. The form it took, though, did surprise me.

I found myself standing on a balcony with an intricate black iron balustrade. High mountains, sharp and craggy, surrounded me, the snow reflecting the setting sun with intensely bright alpenglow. In the valley below, a silver river, half frozen, ran through a cozy-looking village. It was a place of breathtaking, yet somehow intimidating, beauty.

“Like the view?” asked a voice.

I turned to behold Crown Prince Nicolas of Hades. He was leaning casually on the balustrade, dressed in a black tunic and trousers with a black, red and silver cloak around his shoulders. His mouth was crooked in a slight, amused smile.

And he was absolutely gorgeous. In his sleep, he’d been angelic. In this state, there was something dangerous about him, and it attracted me on a gut level.

“How are you doing this?” were the first words out of my mouth. Smooth, I thought.

“It’s a family trait.” Nico’s voice was dry. “So, how am I, Healer Will?”

I paid attention to what my healer’s senses were telling me. “Recovering nicely. There’s still a lot of darkness in your system, though.”

“You won’t get rid of all of that. Again, it’s a family trait.” Nico’s brow furrowed. “My cohort? I know there were two deaths. How are the others?”

“You had the worst injuries of the survivors. The others should pull through.” Something occurred to me. “How did you know about the deaths? One of them was still alive – barely – when you were brought in, unconscious.”

Nico’s eyes, sharp and colorless, focused on me. “I always know. It’s yet another charming family trait. I would appreciate it if you would strip them of all armor and clothing, wash them, cover them with their cloaks, and place their weapons by their sides. I’ll be awake to conduct their rites before three days have passed.”

“General Reyna is here, asking after you,” I told him after a moment.

“Of course she is. You might get visits from my cousins and my sister as well. Don’t hesitate to throw my cousins out if they bother you too much.” He seemed to think about it for a moment. “ _When_ they bother you too much. Reyna and Hazel should be no problem.” Nico’s “cousins” were the princes Percy and Jason. Ceremonially, their royal parents were siblings, no matter how many generations passed. “Tell Reyna I’m in the Dreaming while my body recovers. She’ll understand.”

I considered this information. I knew that Nico’s younger sister, the Princess Hazel, was betrothed to General Frank of Hades. Perhaps Nico and Reyna were a couple? 

Nico shook his head. “Our bond is . . . difficult to explain. In terms of romantic partners, I prefer men.”

The last bit was especially interesting, but more importantly: “How did you know what I was thinking?” I asked, adding silently, _and please don’t be offended that I’ve spent the last few minutes thinking about how very attractive you are._

“Practice. It’s the question that’s always first on people’s minds concerning Reyna and me.” Nico appeared to lose interest in the conversation and stared out at the mountains.

I had another question. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

“I didn’t lie.” Nico gave me another of those slight smirks. “‘Nico’ is my preferred nickname. I just didn’t tell you the whole truth. Would it have made a difference if you had known I was a prince?”

“No.” I smirked back at him. “I know Percy and Jason pretty well. Princes don’t impress me.”

Nico’s eyes glinted as if he was pleased by my answer. “I like to think I’m more impressive than those two.”

“We’ll have to see, won’t we?” It occurred to me that someone could think I was flirting.

Nico gave me a knowing look, as if he was perfectly aware of my thoughts, before turning back to the mountains. “This is my favorite place. I come here when I need to think.”

“It’s beautiful.” I looked out at the landscape. “Probably a little too cold for me, though.”

“You’re from the Summerlands, aren’t you? Most healers are. I find it uncomfortably hot there in summer. Summers here are short and mild. Even you, though, might find that there are compensations for winter weather.” Nico looked up.

The sky had darkened and filled with stars. But as I watched, they were obscured by curtains of dancing lights. 

“The Angel Lights,” I breathed. “I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never seen them.” I looked over at Nico. “You’re called Nicolas of the Angels. Does that have something to do with the Angel Lights?”

The lights reflected on Nico’s face, revealing his pensive expression. “Not exactly. But I think you should probably get back to the waking world now.”

I suddenly realized I didn’t want to go. I wanted to keep talking with Nico. But I was inexorably pulled away, and then I was back in my body, sitting at Nico’s bedside.

It was more than a little disorienting. I shook my head and blinked hard a few times. Reyna was looking at me expectantly, so I said, “Physically, he’s recovering well, better than I’d have anticipated. And, um, he told me to tell you he’s in the Dreaming. How long was I gone?”

“Perhaps a minute. Time runs differently in the Dreaming,” said Reyna. “I’m impressed, by the way; Nico’s presence in the Dreaming can be deeply unsettling, even for those who know him well. You must have a very strong mind to have recovered so quickly.”

I felt myself flushing at Reyna’s praise and quietly cursed my complexion. “Healers have to have strong mental boundaries. Nico’s not the first Dreamer I’ve treated, but . . . he’s different. I’m not sure I can say how, but he is.”

Reyna nodded. “The Hadean royal family is powerful in the Dreaming, but no, not like House Hypnos or House Morpheus. The way Nico explained it to me is that the Dreaming is a way station for souls, and that’s where his family draws their power. By placing himself in a Dreaming state, Nico can recover from his wounds more quickly.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of opening doors and booted feet. Reyna stiffened briefly and pulled herself up to full attention, looking at someone I couldn’t see around the curtain. “Your Highness, the crown prince is here.”

“Thank you, General,” said a female voice, and a moment later, a young woman in a Hadean cavalry uniform, her face painted with the usual black and white with the addition of a large red dot in the middle of her forehead, came around the curtain. She gave a soft cry as she saw the prince and moved to kneel on the side of his bed opposite me.

Princess Hazel took Nico’s hand and touched his face, and she closed her eyes. I realized she was communicating with her brother in the Dreaming. She was perfectly still for a few minutes, and then opened her eyes again and breathed deeply, relaxing, and stood up. She looked at me. Her golden eyes, surrounded by black paint, were arresting.

“You must be Healer Will,” she said. “I thank you for saving my brother’s life.”

I felt the heat of Reyna’s glare, and it took me a moment to realize just how badly I was breaching protocol. My tutors would have been aghast. Hastily, I stood and bowed. “It was my privilege, Your Highness. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m William Solace of House Apollo, and this is my mother, Naomi Solace.”

“It’s an honor to meet you,” said Hazel, offering her hand. I took it briefly. I couldn’t help but think how small and delicate she seemed, not at all what I was used to when it came to soldiers. She was said to be a remarkable equestrienne, though, and one of the most powerful geomancers in the empire.

Heavier footsteps echoed through the ward, and I turned to behold one of the scariest-looking men I’d ever seen. He was a head taller than me and heavily built, with shoulders half again as wide as mine. His face was painted like a Hadean soldier’s, but instead of the single red line Nico had worn, he had three, one bisecting his face and two more running vertically over his eyes. The lines converged under his chin and disappeared under his collar. Close-cut black hair and eyes so dark I couldn’t tell where the iris ended and the pupil began completed the fierce image.

Reyna strode up to the newcomer, and the two of them grasped wrists. “General Frank, it’s good to see you again.”

“General Reyna, it’s been too long.” Frank’s voice was an octave lower than my own.

And yet, when the huge general looked at Princess Hazel, his entire aspect softened. The expression on his face under the paint was downright sappy. “Princess, how is your brother?”

Her expression was just as sweet as his was. “He’s doing well, thanks to the healer. William Solace of House Apollo, this is my betrothed, General Frank Zhang of House Mars. Frank, William saved my brother’s life.”

Frank turned to me and held out his hand. I was prepared for a crushing grip, but the handshake was merely firm. “Thank you, healer.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, trying desperately not to squeak. I’d spent his life among nobility and even royalty as an adopted member of House Apollo, and I had certainly seen my share of military brass, but Reyna and Frank sharing the same space made it feel downright combustible even without the royals.

I quietly withdrew, leaving the generals and the princess with Nico.

***

The following day, after getting a full night’s sleep (thanks be to the Elder Gods), I made my rounds. Some of the Hadean soldiers were well enough to leave. General Frank took them; where, I didn’t know.

The princess remained behind, staying by her brother’s bedside. Without her face paint, she looked very young indeed. I called to mind the few facts that I knew about the Hadean royal family. I knew that there had been a crown princess once – Crown Princess Bianca – but she’d died young. Nico had become crown prince after that. Nico was about my age, and Hazel was four or five years her brother’s junior. That made her, what? Eighteen or nineteen?

What I didn’t understand was that she looked absolutely nothing like Nico. His skin was so white that the war paint seemed hardly necessary. Hers was a rich golden brown. His hair was coal black and almost straight. Hers was almost the same golden brown as her skin and tightly curly. I remembered Nico’s colorless eyes from his dream-self. Hazel’s were gold.

And yet . . . there was a similarity in their features. Nico’s jaw was a little squarer than Hazel’s, and his nose was straight while hers was button, but they had the same strong cheekbones and high forehead. They were also both built on smaller lines. Hazel was tiny. Nico was on the short side with a lean build.

A really nice lean build.

I shook off the thought and approached the bed. Hazel looked up at me and smiled. There was something sweet and winsome about her, and I found it endlessly endearing, like she was one of my own younger sisters.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” I said.

“Please, call me Hazel. You saved my brother’s life; I owe you more than just my thanks for that.” She gestured for me to sit, and I did. “How is he this morning?”

“That’s what I came to find out.” I opened Nico’s shirt to do a physical check of his bandages. Everything looked good; in fact, the wounds looked much better than I would have expected at this stage. Apparently, Nico’s Dreaming trance was working the way it should. I took a deep breath and set one hand on Nico’s chest, and focused my powers.

I found himself standing in bright sunlight overlooking a bay surrounded by mountains. No, not a bay – a fjord.

“The Fjords of Eridanos,” I murmured.

“Exactly.” Nico was standing beside me. “I like it here. Hazel finds it melancholy.”

I could see both their points. The fjord was undoubtedly beautiful. The mountains, with their decorations of greenery and waterfalls, the sparkling water, the birds, the golden sunlight . . . it was wild and magnificent. I idly noted that while yesterday had been winter in Nico’s Dreaming, this was obviously high summer.

But there was also something about the place that felt sad. I couldn’t place my finger on it. Maybe it was the mountains brooding over the water, maybe it was the cry of the sea birds, maybe it was the darkness of the water.

The breeze coming off the water was certainly none too warm, too. I knew that the waters around Hades remained dangerously cold even in summer.

“So, how am I today, healer?” Nico asked.

“Making leaps and bounds. I can’t predict when you’ll be ready to leave, but you’re healing very quickly. I expect you’ll be sore when you awaken, though.”

Nico made a disinterested sound. “Doesn’t matter. Hazel will awaken me before dawn tomorrow to conduct the rites for the dead, no matter how I feel.” He glanced over at me, a hint of wryness in his features. “We take our funeral rites seriously in Hades.”

I thought about it. “Well, as long as you’re not doing anything strenuous, it should be fine for you to get out of bed tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Will Solace.” Nico glanced at me again. “I’ve studied the noble families of the Apolline region, and I can’t say I’m familiar with your family name. Yet you are of House Apollo?”

“It’s . . . a little complicated,” I hedged, and shivered in the cool breeze. “I wasn’t born into the House, but I grew up in it. My father, Lester, was a great healer. He saved Lord Apollo’s life, but at the cost of his own. Lord Apollo granted him a postmortem knighthood, and he gave our family some of his own land. He treated me like one of his own children. I practically lived at his estate of Delos, and I have to say, it was a nice childhood.”

Nico held out his hand. “Show me.”

I didn’t know exactly what he meant, but I took his hand. My childhood memories rushed into my mind, and a moment later, we were standing in the park surrounding Lord Apollo’s manor home. Compared to Nico’s home, it seemed orderly, sedate and tame. Golden sunshine poured down on the gardens and fountains. It was so achingly familiar – I hadn’t been home in the better part of a year – that I could practically hear the laughter of children. In the distance, the Apolline Range gleamed in the afternoon sun.

“Those are the mountains I’m used to,” I told Nico, pointing them out.

He gave a snort. “You call those mountains? More like hills!”

I was a little offended for my home. “They’re mountains. They may not look like the Erebus Range-”

“You can say that again.”

“-but the geomancers say they’re very old-”

“Positively geriatric, by the looks of them.”

“-and some of my happiest memories are of hikes up them.”

“How long did that take? Seconds? Minutes?”

“Come on! They’re not that short.”

“Were they made by moles or ants?”

“You’re impossible!”

Nico gave a dark little chuckle, as if my protests were entertainment. Which they probably were. I gave him a dirty look, which he seemed to find even more amusing.

Gods help me, he was attractive.

“I was born there, you know,” I told him. “Right among the foothills.”

“How could you tell the difference between those and the mountains, again?”

“Shut up. It’s a beautiful area, especially in the fall, when the leaves all turn.” I loved the blaze of color in the autumn leaves. It was my mother’s favorite season, too, even if she complained of the cold. “My mother sings the mountain airs of the region. If you stay in the recovery ward for long, she might sing one for you.”

“I might like that,” said Nico, dropping the cynicism. “We don’t get as many different kinds of trees in Hades, so we don’t have as many fall colors.”

I was more and more curious about him all the time. “So, now that you know my life’s story, what about you?”

He instantly closed off. I kicked myself.

“Some of my cohort will want to sit with the dead for the night vigil,” he said. “You can check on them, but don’t interfere unless someone’s in real danger. You should get back to the waking world. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, I was back in my body. I looked down at Nico, who hadn’t stirred, physically, and wondered exactly what he was protecting.

***

I asked Kayla, who usually worked the night shift, to wake me up as soon as she saw Nico stirring the next morning. Not that I ever got much sleep at one time. I was called in to consult on difficult cases twice overnight. Kayla’s wake-up call before sunrise was not welcome, but I was too interested in the Hadean funeral rites – 

No, I was just interested in Nico. I can be that honest with myself, at least.

When I arrived in the ward, Nico was awake, sitting on the edge of his bed as Hazel painted Hadean runes on his face, her face set in concentration. I kept a bit of distance, not wanting to interfere with whatever was to happen.

It came as a bit of a shock to see Nico awake in the flesh. He was pale and looked far more tired and vulnerable than he had in the Dreaming. That much made sense; he hadn’t quite recovered from his wounds.

After Hazel finished painting his face, she brushed his hair and pulled some of it back into an intricate knot, which she fixed in place with two ruby-tipped pins. He stood, and she buckled his sword belt around his waist. In addition to his sword, it held a dagger. Both sword and dagger gave me a chill. They were made of black metal. Stygian iron, it was called, mined in the Erebus mountains, forged in only one place, and tempered in the River Styx. Nico’s sword, I knew, was called Shadow.

The last thing Hazel did was to attach Nico’s cloak to his armor. Not a word was spoken during all of this, but the two of them worked together as a perfect unit.

Once Nico was ready, they left the ward, crossing the compound to the hospital’s morgue. Inside, the bodies lay on slabs. The Hadean soldiers’ bodies were the only ones left, as the others had been claimed by their own nations already.

Other Hadean soldiers were already gathered around the bodies, some of them openly weeping. As Nico entered, they all looked at him. No, they all looked _to_ him, as if he was a priest, someone to guide them through their grief.

Nico stopped beside the first body, that of a woman. He folded the cloak down to reveal her face. Hazel handed him a vial of oil, which he used to anoint her. He began to speak in the Old Tongue, of which I understood only a little. His cadence was that of a prayer or invocation.

Nico handed the oil back to Hazel, and then he folded the cloak down again so it rested just under the dead woman’s breasts. Then he drew his dagger.

What happened next was something I was in no way prepared for. Nico raised the dagger . . . and then plunged it into her heart. The body dissolved into black dust, which seemed to flow into his skin, adding to the tattoos there.

And the Hadeans breathed out a collective sigh, as if something they were waiting for had finally been completed.

Nico moved to the second body, that of a man. He repeated the same ritual. Then he folded both of the empty cloaks. The woman’s, he presented to another female soldier, one who had been weeping over her body.

“Your sister is safe with me,” said Nico.

“Thank you, my prince,” the woman whispered, bowing.

He presented the man’s cloak to one of the men. “Your cousin is safe with me.”

The man bowed. “Thank you, my prince.”

A slight swaying in Nico’s stance activated my healer’s instincts, and I stepped forward just in time to catch him as he lost his balance.

He looked up, and suddenly, our faces were inches apart. His eyes, as in his dreams, were colorless, like broken glass. For a moment that felt like an eternity, we just stared at each other.

“So, that’s what you look like in the waking world,” he murmured. Then he collapsed.


	2. Discovering the Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will has visitors and discovers something important about Prince Nico and his family; Gaea's forces launch an attack; Nico shows what he's capable of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like stories in which our Underworld family is close and happy.
> 
> This is not that story. Nico's family puts the "fu" in "dysfunctional." Just letting you know.

Nico didn’t quite faint, but I needed the help of one of the Hadean soldiers to get him back to his bed, where he promptly fell asleep. Hazel gamely helped me rid him of his armor, cloak, boots and weapons.

After he was in bed, I just stared at his “tattoos.” Now that I knew how they were made, I couldn’t help but wonder how many times he’d performed this ritual, and what happened to the . . . souls he absorbed into himself.

“I don’t understand what I just saw,” I told Hazel.

She looked sympathetic. “It’s hard to explain, but . . . the king and the heir to the Hadean throne are a nexus for souls. Soldiers from all over the Empire pledge their lives to their rulers, but with us, it goes further. We pledge ourselves even after death. Well, they do; I’m not allowed to, as a member of the royal family. There are rules.” She paused, seeming to think about how to explain.

After a moment, she went on. “When Nico, or our father, performs the rite, the soldier becomes a soul he can call upon in time of need. The armies of the dead protect our lands and our people. They sleep until the time comes for them to fight for us. Some say they dance with the Angel Lights.”

I absorbed this. “So, a Hadean soldier is a soldier, what, forever?”

“Oh, no,” Hazel reassured me. “The souls our father carries will go to their rest when he does, and it’s the same for Nico. They’ll accompany him to the Isles of the Blessed.”

That certainly sounded better than being bound to a ruler’s will for eternity. I still wasn’t sure how I felt, but it was clear to me that the Hadeans were somehow comforted by the ritual, and they loved their prince.

It was a lot to think about, so I went back to work. There were wound dressings to change and injuries to monitor.

Mid-morning, I had a visitor. Thalia Grace of House Jupiter, former Crown Princess of Jove, current captain of the Selenite Sisters, dropped in to check on her wounded sisters.

The Selenites were an order of warrior nuns dedicated to the moon goddess. They had been founded by Artemis, twin sister of the first Lord Apollo, and they were considered possibly the finest hunters and infiltrators in the world. Their archery skills rivaled even the famed Archers of Apollo. My foster sister Kayla had trained with the Archers and was considering becoming a Selenite. I’d also trained with the Archers, but it wasn’t something that came naturally to me. I liked archery for the focus, not because I was especially good at it.

Thalia had joined the Selenites at the age of fifteen, rejecting her royal heritage. She’d abdicated her position, passing it to her younger brother, Jason. It had been a huge item of gossip when I was young. People said to watch out for lightning, because Emperor Jupiter was absolutely furious. He couldn’t keep her from taking her oath, though, so he had to live with it.

I personally thought she’d made the right decision. Thalia had risen to the top of the Sisters, but she didn’t have the temperament of a ruler. There was no way that she could’ve confined herself to the strictures that being Empress would have placed on her. Jason was steadier, somehow. He didn’t have Thalia’s wanderlust.

Both siblings had the blazing blue eyes typical of their family, and they both had muscular builds, though Thalia was considerably shorter than her brother. They had different hair colors, Jason’s golden and Thalia’s almost black.

Now, Thalia was in the ward, wearing the silver-and-white tunic and trousers of her order, a silver moon brooch in her hair to signify her leadership. Unlike most women in Jupiter and Neptune, she wore her hair short.

That fact somehow brought my mind back to Nico. While men in Jupiter and Neptune usually kept their hair quite short, the Hadean soldiers, male and female, all wore their hair long.

I shook off the thought and went to greet Thalia. “It’s good to see you, Princess,” I said, knowing for a fact that she hated being called Princess.

Thalia turned her intense blue eyes on me. “I can hurt you, Solace.”

I laughed. “Same old Thalia.”

“And no one else.” Thalia smiled and held out her hand, which I shook. “My sisters say they’ve been treated well here. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Thalia cocked her head, giving me a curious look. “One of them told me that a certain prince has ended up in your care.”

“Uh, yeah,” I stammered. Why did Nico rattle me so much? “He came in with his cohort, and he was wounded, so I had to heal him, and he kind of pulled me into his dreams, and . . .” I forced myself to stop talking. Blithering, really. “He’s kind of a puzzle.”

“That he is.” Thalia gave me another of her sharp looks and smiled a little. “Is there any way a sister could get a glass of wine around here? I’ll trade you twenty-something year-old gossip for it.”

“Sure.” It was quiet in the ward, so I took Thalia back to the apartment Mama and I shared in the hospital. I had a bottle of Bacchan wine, an excellent vintage, and I poured glasses for myself and Thalia.

Thalia threw her cloak over the back of a chair, baring her muscular, scarred arms. She had a number of tattoos, ones that symbolized battles she’d been in or quests she’d undertaken.

I handed her the glass of wine I’d poured for her, and she sat down. She sipped the wine, looking pensive.

“How much do you know about the Hadean royal family?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Not much. It’s a pretty insular country. I know he married Lady Proserpina of Ceres.” Per tradition, her regnal name was Queen Persephone, after the first Hadean queen. “I understand the marriage hasn’t necessarily been happy.”

Thalia laughed shortly. “You have no idea. But there’s very little that escapes the court of the emperor, so . . .” She wafted her hand. “I learned most of this well after the fact, since I wasn’t even born when it started.

“Countess Ceres was intent on having her daughter marry royalty. And since Hades is always in need of Ceresian grain and crops to feed its people, it made sense that King Hades would marry the Lady Proserpina. So he did, and everyone thought it was a perfect alliance. Except that the queen failed to get pregnant the first year after their marriage, or the second, or the third . . . eventually, they called in healers to see if they could solve the problem. Unfortunately, they couldn’t. She was barren.

I was getting it. “King Hades has no siblings. There was going to be a crisis of succession.”

Thalia nodded. “The only choice was for the king to take a secondary consort.”

Taking a secondary consort, or even a legal concubine, to have a child for the king or heir to the throne, was fairly common throughout the royal families when the succession was on the line. To divorce a spouse was to risk disrupting alliances; another consort helped the spouse save face, and children of the secondary consort were traditionally considered to be children of the primary consort as well. I nodded at Thalia, and she went on.

“King Hades chose as his secondary consort Lady Maria from the southern Hadean province of Angelis, or Angelo in the local dialect. She would’ve been an excellent choice – well born, very beautiful, and her family has some remarkable magical gifts – except that King Hades had actually courted her before his marriage to Lady Proserpina was arranged.” Thalia raised her eyebrows at me.

“Damn,” I breathed. What King Hades had done was outside any royal protocol. “I’ll bet the queen was furious.”

“According to royal gossip? ‘Furious’ doesn’t quite cover it. But technically, he hadn’t done anything wrong. All Queen Persephone could do was order that Lady Maria wasn’t to live in the palace. King Hades had a house built for her, the Lotus House, on the palace grounds. Lady Maria got pregnant quickly, and she had Crown Princess Bianca within the first year of becoming the king’s consort. Prince Nicolas followed two years later.

“I met them for the first time when I was just a child. The Hadean royal family had traveled down for the Consortium at my father’s court. My mother says Bianca and I were instant friends. I believe her. Bianca was . . . she was special. King Hades doted on her. She was his heir, his firstborn. Every time I saw the family, it was the same story. Hades openly favored Bianca; Nico was just the spare.”

“What was he like as a child?” I asked.

“He was cute.” Thalia took another sip of her wine. “He was very attached to his mother, and he worshiped the ground Bianca walked on. I doubt he noticed, at that point, how much his father favored her. Even as they grew, he was just a happy kid, loved playing games, loved stories of the heroes of long ago. I was about a year older than Bianca, who was about a year older than Jason, and he was about a year older than Nico. Percy’s my age, of course. The royal kids. We had fun while the adults were at court.

“When Nico was four years old, Lady Maria died suddenly. Her death hit King Hades very hard; he loved her deeply. He focused even more on Bianca, on grooming her for the throne. Queen Persephone, on the other hand, barred any mention of Lady Maria. Bianca told me about it in secret. She and Nico had to sneak away just to talk about their mother.” Thalia snorted. “Royal families have only the most expensive dysfunction. Have you ever noticed that?”

I was appalled. “She couldn’t understand that a couple of kids had lost their mother?”

Thalia made a face. “Well, you’ve got to give her credit for not actually trying to kill them, like the first Queen Hera.”

The first King Zeus had been a notorious philanderer. The first Queen Hera had dealt with his by-blows by trying to kill them, and sometimes their mothers as well. It was one of those charming stories that made you happy to live in more civilized times. Queen Persephone had settled for being passive-aggressive.

Thalia went on with her story. “Bianca was incredibly protective of Nico. She knew the king favored her, and the queen barely put up with their presence. Basically, Bianca and Nico only had each other. He was still a really sweet kid at that point. He hero-worshiped Jason, and I’m pretty certain he had a mad crush on Percy.”

Thalia took a long, deep breath. “And then Bianca died. She was only twelve years old. Nico was ten.”

“Gods, that must’ve been so hard for him,” I said, understating things magnificently.

“That’s putting it mildly,” said Thalia, confirming my suspicions that I was an idiot. “The next time I saw Nico, he was . . . he was gone. That sweet, happy kid had just had the life drained out of him. King Hades took his daughter’s death even harder than he’d taken Lady Maria’s, by all accounts, and Queen Persephone had, well, added another layer of ice to her personality. Nico was completely alone.”

That brought up another question. “Wait, what about Princess Hazel? It’s obvious she doesn’t have the same mother as he does, but she’s only a few years younger.”

“That is the question,” said Thalia. “Nobody knows where Hazel comes from. What happened was – are you aware of the Pythia’s royal prophecies?”

“Only that she predicts three things for each royal child upon his or her birth. I’ve never really paid attention to them.”

“Right. Well, for Nico, the first prophecy was that he would be ‘conscience to the King.’ Personally, I think that was fulfilled when he persuaded King Hades to join the war. The second was that he would ‘find his place in the sun.’ Your guess is as good as mine. But the third . . . the Pythia said that Nico would never have a child of his own body. That hardly mattered while Bianca was the heir, but after she died?”

“Another succession crisis,” I said.

Thalia nodded. “Exactly. Without Bianca, there could be no future heir. So, King Hades was again pressured to take a secondary consort. Only, he didn’t. Instead, he produced Hazel. A priest testified that she was the child of a consort the king had taken in secret, and she was a legitimate heir of the kingdom. The magi confirmed she was a child of King Hades, and she does have the golden eyes of the royal family.”

“But Nico’s have no color at all,” I pointed out.

“They used to. They were just as golden as Hazel’s when I first met him. Bianca’s were colorless. After Nico accepted the mantle of crown prince, his eyes lost their color. Honestly, it was sad. It seemed like all the color was gone from his life.

“But he came back a little with Hazel. The first time I saw her, I thought she was adorable. King Hades and Queen Persephone sort of pretended she wasn’t there, and I could see Nico was becoming protective of her. He’s never been the same since Bianca’s death; it made him sadder and harder and more determined to prove himself to his father. But Hazel has helped, and so did Jason. He kind of made Nico his project. My brother’s a good man. A much better heir to the Imperial throne than I ever was.”

“I’m afraid of you, so I won’t say anything right now.” I grinned as Thalia rolled her eyes. “But thank you for all the information. I’m not sure what to make of Nico. Percy and Jason are pretty easy to read, but he’s, let’s just say, enigmatic.”

“And attractive?” Thalia’s eyes sparkled.

“You’re supposed to be celibate.”

“Celibate, not blind. Although even a blind person could see you blushing when you talk about him.”

“Shut up and drink your wine.”

***

After Thalia left, I went back to the ward to check on my patients. As I was about to enter the east ward, I saw Nico and Hazel having an animated discussion and hesitated. It wasn’t that I was planning on eavesdropping, but . . .

Okay, I eavesdropped.

“. . . hate being so far away from him,” Hazel was saying. “Our wedding’s still months away. I wish we could speed it up.”

As she spoke, it occurred to me that her voice had changed. Rather than the crisp Hades accent she’d spoken to me with before, she was speaking in a softer, drawling accent. I felt like I’d heard that accent before, but I couldn’t place where.

“Royal protocol,” said Nico, squeezing her hand. “Everyone has to be able to come to the wedding of a royal, or it’ll all end in diplomatic crises.”

Hazel sighed. “I know, I know. I just . . . I worry about him. He’s always leading battles. If anything were to happen to him . . .” Her voice caught.

“It won’t.” Nico’s voice was soft, firm. “I know he still has years ahead of him. I _know_ it, Hazel. You’ll get married and pop out an heir for me. At least one. Try for four or five; we’ve had enough succession crises.”

Hazel giggled. “You need a consort, too, you know. You can’t keep running suitors off.”

“Watch me,” Nico said darkly.

“Come on. There must be someone out there for you.” She gave him a knowing look. “You know, that healer’s awfully handsome, and he even stood up to you in the Dreaming. He’s a ward of Lord Apollo, and you know we can always use sun crystals, so Father would agree to the match just for the trading agreement . . .”

I honestly hadn’t expected that I’d be a topic of conversation.

Nico shook his head. “He’s a healer. I’m, for lack of a better word, me. He wouldn’t be interested. The ritual this morning probably made him all the more eager to be rid of me.”

“Don’t be so sure. He seems intrigued.”

“Well, okay, you’ve convinced me.” Nico gave his sister a deadpan look. “Next time I see him, I’ll propose marriage, right then and there.”

Hazel thumped his head. “You’re impossible, you know that? You’re as crotchety as Lord Chancellor Geras.”

Nico laughed, and it was a beautiful laugh. “Lord Chancellor Geras was born old. He came out of the womb complaining that being born was so much better in the old days.”

Hazel giggled. “I wouldn't doubt it at all.”

I decided I needed to stop eavesdropping. I entered the ward, and the royal siblings looked up at my approach.

“Hello, Will,” said Hazel. “Do you need to talk to my brother alone?”

Her voice now held no trace of the accent I’d heard before. Interesting.

“That’s not necessary,” I told her. “I just need to check how he’s doing.”

Nico offered me a hand, which I took, and I concentrated. His body temperature was a little low, but that wasn’t uncommon among Hadeans. His injuries were still healing. In spite of that, he seemed remarkably healthy, and I didn’t think he’d be in my hospital much longer.

The thought saddened me a little. As a healer, I’m supposed to want people to get better and leave, but there was still so much I wanted to know about Nico.

I opened my eyes to find him looking at me intently. “So, how am I doing, healer?” he asked.

“I think you’ll probably be able to leave in a few days.” I released his hand, and something I’d been wondering about in the back of my mind suddenly came to the forefront. “Can I ask you something?”

Nico looked guarded, but said, “Of course.”

“What you said when you saw me, about what I look like in the waking world – do I look different in the Dreaming?”

The question seemed to surprise him. “Well, yes. Most people do who don’t spend a lot of time there.”

I was even more curious. “What do I look like there?”

“Younger, mostly.” Nico gave me a penetrating look. “Perhaps fifteen or sixteen, I think. It’s not uncommon, especially . . .” He trailed off.

“Especially?” I prompted.

“Especially if something traumatic happened to you then. People’s ideas of themselves tend to get . . . stuck, I suppose, after a life-altering event.” Nico’s eyes became even more penetrating, which I hadn’t thought was possible. “You lost someone, didn’t you?”

The memories came rushing back. “I . . . yeah.” I swallowed hard against sudden sorrow. “My brothers – foster brothers, not that it mattered to me – Lee and Michael. Lee died in the war, and then, before we could even begin to recover, Michael died, too. All of a sudden, I was the oldest sibling in House Apollo.”

“And you didn’t feel ready.” Nico’s voice was quiet. “I know how that feels.”

I appreciated the sentiment, but I knew becoming the heir to a throne had to be much more overwhelming than being Lord Apollo’s eldest ward. Still, there were expectations that started to fall on me. I’d thought I would have years more to study healing, but after Lee and Michael died, I felt like I had to go to the border and take over their duties.

“I became a combat medic, just like they were,” I told Nico. “My mother wasn’t happy, but it was something I had to do. Master Chiron eventually pulled me from the field to work here.”

“I can see why. You’re an exceptionally powerful healer,” said Nico.

I felt myself blushing. I caught Hazel’s eye and realized she had a downright calculating look on her face.

“I’m afraid it’s time for me to go,” she said. “I’m leaving with the troop transport today. Will, I’m glad you’ll be here to take care of my brother.” She leaned down and kissed Nico’s cheek. They spoke quietly in the Old Tongue for a few minutes, and then she stood, gave me a sweet smile (and a saucy wink) and left.

At least his sister approved of me.

Before I could even begin to embarrass myself with Nico, I heard a loud clatter and swearing in the Hephaestian dialect from right outside the east ward.

“What in Tartarus is that?” Nico asked.

“I don’t know, but I’d better find out before it sends people to the OR.” I walked out the nearest exit into the courtyard behind the hospital, where someone was setting up a catapult. A very familiar someone.

“Leo Valdez, why is there a siege engine next to my hospital?” I demanded of the young man whose lower half was currently projecting from the catapult.

“ _Hola_ , Solace!” Leo extricated himself from his machine. He hadn’t changed in all the years I’d known him, right down to the messy hair and the machine oil smeared on his face. “Sorry about all the noise. This _pendejo_ is giving me attitude.” He kicked the catapult.

I folded my arms. Much as I liked Leo – recently named Queen Poseidon’s Master of Devices – he had a tendency to get so caught up in what he was doing that it practically took . . . well, a catapult, to get him on track. “I still don’t know what it’s doing here.”

“Oh. Yeah, there have been some recent attacks on field hospitals. The emperor ordered protection for all the hospitals on the border. Hence this thing.” He knocked on the side of the catapult. “If I can ever get the crossbar to stop falling off.”

“I have it,” said a female voice. The crossbar floated into place, where wooden pins locked it in. “That should take care of it.”

Calypso, a witch of the Trivium who had been keeping company with Leo for the past few years, skirted the catapult as she approached. And as she did so, I realized where I’d heard Hazel’s accent before.

The Trivium was where the three kingdoms of the Empire met. The Neptunian state of Aphrodite, the Jovian state of Mars, and the Hadean state of Nyx all bordered each other at the Trivium, where historically, great decisions had been made. Before the Trivium had even existed, the area had served as a wellspring of magic for the order of witches who honored the ancient goddess Hecate, whom the Hadeans called Mother of Angels. They lived secluded from the world of men according to ancient traditions and spoke their own language, a creole of Aphroditan.

And Hazel, in her unguarded moments, spoke with the same accent as Calypso. Witches could come from any part of the Empire, but most were born in the Trivium, the daughters of witches and the men they chose to sire their offspring. They almost always chose men who had magical gifts of their own, like Leo’s pyromancy.

Or, for that matter, the Hadean king’s necromancy and geomancy.

Witches were naturally secretive, too, seldom staying outside of the Trivium for long. Calypso was a bit of a rogue, traveling all over the Empire with Leo on the back of his bronze dragon, Festus.

A good tutor could have trained Hazel in how to sound Hadean, and given how few people would be familiar with the witches’ accent anyway, it would have been simple to conceal Hazel’s origins. It would have been necessary as well; there was a great deal of superstition and prejudice surrounding the witches. Listening as Calypso and Leo continued to speak, I was sure I had it right. Calypso’s hair was even the same color as Hazel’s, though her skin was lighter.

These thoughts distracted me from my primary mission, which I decided to get back to. “Leo, how many of these things are you going to put up?” I waved my hand at the sudden crowd of engineers rolling, dragging and carrying various components up to the hospital.

Leo shrugged. “Oh, we think maybe a few catapults and some ballistae for the roof. Nyssa!” He yelled to his sister in rapid Hephaestian. She yelled back. I could speak a little Hephaestian, and some of the words I caught Nyssa saying weren’t very nice.

I turned to Calypso. “Do you think you could convince him to try being a little quieter? I have patients who need their rest.”

She laughed. “I’ll try, but no promises.”

It had to be good enough. I went back into the hospital and did my rounds. By the time I’d finished, Jake, one of the engineers, had managed to fall off the roof, so I had to treat him. Afterward, Mama more or less dragged me back to my apartment to sleep, so I didn’t have a chance to talk to Nico again. 

***

The next day brought me numerous small injuries from the engineers. Fortunately, the front had shifted, and we weren’t getting inundated with quite so many wounded soldiers anymore. The engineers kept me busy for the first half of the day. I found out later that Leo had visited Nico in my absence.

It was after lunch before I got around to checking on the prince. He seemed annoyed. Not at me, necessarily, but at life in general.

“I’m terminally bored,” he announced. “Is there anything to do around here that doesn’t involve staring at the walls?”

“I could bring you some books,” I offered.

He waved a hand. “I’ve seen the books you have around here, and I’ve read all of them.”

To be fair, the east ward had largely cleared out. Most of the Hadeans had left with the last troop transport, if not before then. In spite of how well he’d healed so far, though, Nico wasn’t yet ready to leave the hospital. Small wonder he was bored.

But I didn’t exactly have much to interest him with. “I have a little free time. Want to play a game of petteia?”

“If you feel like getting beaten badly, sure.” Nico reclined with that dangerous smile on his face. It did things to me, and I made a hasty exit to get the board and pieces before I did something inappropriate.

Once we started playing, it was clear from the start I was going to have to fight hard not to lose in an embarrassing way. I’d once played petteia against Prince Percy’s wife, Annabeth, and still had the dent in my ego to show for it. I mentioned it to Nico as we played.

He laughed. “No one plays Annabeth anymore. Reyna is the only person I know who’s even come close to beating her.”

“How did you meet Reyna, anyway?” I asked.

Nico took a moment out of beating me to answer. “I met her briefly when doing ambassadorial duties for my father in the Imperial Senate. I didn’t get to know her, though, until – do you remember the Octavian Affair?”

I looked up at him sharply. “Remember it? It was the only thing Lord Apollo talked about for a solid year.”

Octavian had been a fringe member of House Apollo. He’d had one major talent, that of augury, and used it to garner influence in the Senate. In a war-weary nation, he’d offered hope for peace. It was a hollow hope, though; Octavian had charisma, but no actual plan. But he’d split the Senate at the worst possible time.

That was just the tip of the iceberg, though. Octavian had recruited some immensely shady associates who deliberately set about sowing discord as far away as Neptune. He’d even had contacts with Gaea. Whether he thought he was in control, I don’t know, but he compromised everything about the war effort and left places like my own Summerlands open to attack.

Nico nodded at my acknowledgment. “King Jupiter asked Reyna to go to the Duchess Athena with a peace offering, hoping that by getting her on his side, he could revitalize the war effort. I knew it was an important mission, so I volunteered to go as well, representing Hades.”

The Duchy of Athena existed in a strange, in-between state in the Empire. Technically, it was part of the Kingdom of Neptune. In practical terms, though, it had its own culture, its own dialect, its own economy, and a strategic position that made it impossible to ignore. More importantly, it had longstanding quarrels with both Jupiter and Neptune.

I’d known that the Octavian Affair had ended after the Duchess Athena had appeared in the full Imperial Senate throwing her weight behind the emperor with a powerful speech outlining, in stark terms, what would happen if we gave up the fight. She had intelligence on the size of Gaea’s forces and the rogue nation’s expansionist outlook that no one could ignore.

But I’d never known what had led to Duchess Athena giving up her grudges against Neptune and Jupiter. Whatever had happened had been effective enough that her eldest daughter, Lady Annabeth, had married Prince Percy two years ago. By all accounts, the royal couple was deliriously happy.

“What happened?” I asked Nico.

He shook his head. “Too much to go into. Suffice to say, Reyna and I went through hell together. The journey was long and dangerous, Octavian had agents everywhere, and we had no guarantee we’d be successful. The only person we could truly rely on was Gleeson Hedge, the Neptunian attaché we’d been assigned. When it was all over, Reyna knew me in a way no one else had since . . .”

I could guess at the end of the sentence, but didn’t say anything as Nico left it hanging. We finished the game (Nico won) in silence as I thought about everything I’d learned about him since he’d landed in my hospital. In particular, my mind kept returning to Hazel and where she’d possibly come from.

“Spit it out,” Nico suddenly ordered. When I looked at him, startled, he raised his eyebrows. “You want to ask about something. I can tell. Spit it out.”

I thought for a moment about how to phrase what I was thinking. “I, um, overheard you and Hazel speaking yesterday. Just briefly,” I hastened to reassure him when he stiffened. “I noticed her accent and thought I recognized it. Then, when I met Leo and Calypso yesterday, I realized where I’d heard it before.”

I stopped speaking when Nico looked up at me, his colorless eyes narrowed. It suddenly hit me that I might have blundered into a secret that the Hadean royals would do anything to keep concealed. For an eternal moment, near-violent tension filled the air, and I was actually frightened of what would happen when it snapped.

“That’s a very dangerous secret you’ve stumbled upon, healer,” Nico said very quietly. “If I thought you couldn’t be trusted with it . . . I would have to protect my sister.”

The way he said it sent shivers down my spine. Not all of them were bad, if I’m honest. “I won’t tell anyone, even my mother,” I promised. “I swear it, I won’t.”

The tension remained in the air, but the violence dissipated. “I believe you. But you have to understand, Hazel’s honor and place in the royal family hang in the balance.” He sat back with a sigh. “My father was deeply distressed by my mother’s death. He has long felt that there is some kind of curse on the Hadean royal family, and he may not be wrong; too many in our lineage have died young.

“What I discovered many years after the fact was that he secretly visited the Trivium after my mother died. There, he met a powerful witch, Madame Levesque. She consoled him. And a bit more. She made no secret of the fact that she wanted a child by him, and my father gave her one, hoping that she could lift the curse.”

Nico absently toyed with one of the game pieces as he spoke. “For many years, he kept this a secret. But then, Bianca died. Because of the prophecy over my life that I would never have a child of my own body, the Hadean Senate quietly began to pressure my father to take another consort. He didn’t want to; he had no desire to become as attached to someone again as he had to my mother. For close to two years, he refused. And when it became obvious he could refuse no longer, he finally produced Hazel.”

“That must’ve been a shock,” I said.

“To say the least. And not just to me. His row with Queen Persephone went on for days. She finally agreed to allow him to bring Hazel to the palace, but not her mother.” Nico laughed humorlessly. “Which left my father with the duty of taking Hazel away from the only people and place she’d ever known and bringing her to the icy embrace of our family. He granted Madame Levesque a manor in the Asphodel region as a sort of bribe. What happened to her ultimately, I don’t know.”

“How old was Hazel?” I asked, troubled by all of this.

“Eight, when she came to the palace. Understand, I resented the very suggestion I might have another sister. I missed Bianca terribly, I was furious with my father, and I was determined to never say a word to this interloper, but Hazel . . . she was so little, so vulnerable, and so sweet-natured that she won me over. Father lined her up with my horrible old governess, Alecto, to try to get her up to speed on what a princess needs to know. Alecto and Hazel’s tutors did their best to beat that accent out of her. I was the only one she could talk to who wouldn’t correct her pronunciation or make her feel bad for not knowing what was expected of her.”

“Poor girl,” I said. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t imagine being dragged away from my home and my family and forced to live in a place where I was berated and even beaten just for being myself.

Nico nodded. “It really is awful. Truthfully, there’s no one in the whole mess of my family I can’t fault. My father made the worst choices he could possibly have made. The queen has always been so caught up in her own hurt that she couldn’t show any compassion to the children swept up in the drama. Even my mother lamented in her letters and journals that she felt she should never have accepted my father’s proposition, but she was in love with him and believed that would be enough to overcome any difficulty. And Madame Levesque treated my father like some kind of coup. It’s a horrible mess, Will, and the fact that Hazel and I love each other is the only good that’s come out of it.”

“It’s a good thing she had you,” I told him.

He smiled a little. “It’s a good thing I had her. I was . . . in a bad state after Bianca’s death. One of my father’s council of advisors, Minos, was plotting against him. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was. He hoped to get me on his side so he’d own the heir to the throne. I resented my father so badly I might have been easy prey. Hazel helped me let go of my anger, and I realized what Minos was trying to do.” He was idly stacking and restacking the game pieces. “I finally had someone I could talk to about Bianca and my mother. She taught me a little of the creole she spoke, and I taught her some Angelian, which I wasn’t allowed to speak in the palace.”

I looked at him, and his face was so noble, so beautiful, and so sad, that it broke my heart. He didn’t deserve all that life had thrown at him, and yet he was the one who’d convinced his father to join the war. Not only that, but he fought on the front lines. The soldiers who served with him loved him. Nico was, by far, the most amazing person I’d ever met.

And of all the ill-advised crushes of my life (and there have been many), this was, by far, the worst.

I tried to gather myself. “You and Hazel can change things for the next generation, at least.”

“Oh, we will.” He flashed me a brief smile. “I like General Frank. He was born into House Mars, but his mother was Hadean – she died in the war – and her family can trace its origins to the first King Poseidon, and that made him acceptable to my father as Hazel’s suitor. He adores Hazel, and she adores him. They’ll make a good match.”

“Do you have anyone in mind for a consort?” I blurted, even though I knew the answer from the conversation I’d overheard the day before.

“No. And I won’t let myself be dragooned into a political match,” he spat. “I get men thrown at me all the time by the royal court and my father’s advisors. They don’t know me. All they’re interested in is the prince. I won’t share my bed or my life with someone who just wants a crown.”

Apparently, I’d touched a nerve. I had no idea what to say, and after a moment, Nico looked up at me and colored slightly.

“Sorry,” he said, a bit sheepishly. “I’ve dominated this conversation, haven’t I?”

“My life’s not all that interesting,” I said, shrugging.

“I think it is.” He tilted his head, considering me with his strange eyes. “You grew up a ward of Lord Apollo. I’d imagine that’s interesting.”

“Well, he is the self-described ‘Lord of Drama.’ There was a whole saga with him, his lover Hyacinthus, and Lord Favonius that kept Delos buzzing with gossip for the better part of a year.” I shook my head, remembering. “But at least he’s generous with all the children born of his various affairs. Including wards, there were sixteen of us who grew up at the estate.”

“Sixteen!”

I nodded. “Yep. Lee was the oldest; he was five years my senior. Then Michael, then me. I had the opportunity for a first-class education, and I had plenty of family around the whole time I was growing up. I owe a lot to Lord Apollo. He’s always been kind to us.” I smirked at Nico. “My mother refuses to confirm or deny that she was ever one of his legion of lovers.”

Nico laughed at that. “I’ve met Lord Apollo. I doubt there’s an attractive woman or man in the whole empire he hasn’t propositioned at some point.” He gestured at me. “Save perhaps for his children and wards, I trust.”

“You’re right on both points,” I assured him.

Victoria entered the ward, spotted me, and came over. “I beg your pardon, Prince Nico, but I have to speak to my cousin. Will, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Clovis is calling for you.” 

I sighed and forced myself to my feet. I didn’t want to stop talking with Nico, but Clovis, a powerful Dreamer of House Hypnos, often relayed important information to us. “I’m sorry, but I have to see what he wants,” I said to Nico.

Nico gave me a formal nod. “Of course. Thank you for the game and the conversation. I’ll try to make my own amusement now.”

With no small amount of regret, I left Nico behind and went to find Clovis. He was ensconced in a private room where he slept most of the day and night. Dreamers found it hard to stay awake, and many lived very short lives. At least, they did in the waking world. Given what I’d discovered from visiting Nico’s dreams, perhaps their lives were longer than they seemed from the outside.

Clovis was asleep when I entered, so I gently shook his shoulder and called his name. “Clovis, you said you had information for me?”

He snorted as he woke. “Will? Uh, yeah, information. That was a while ago, though . . .”

“I just got the message,” I explained, trying to be patient. Clovis wasn’t the most linear person. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Oh, the message.” He rubbed his eyes. “One of Lord Apollo’s augurs says there’s danger coming this way. Like, an attack on the hospital. They alerted General Command, so someone should be here within the day, but, um, the augur said the help could be too late, and you should prepare to evacuate.”

I was taken aback. “Evacuate? We can’t evacuate right now! I have patients that can’t be moved.”

Clovis shrugged. “That’s what they said.”

“Okay.” I sighed. This wasn’t going to be fun. “I’ll do what I can. Thanks for the warning, Clovis.”

I left Clovis and called together a meeting of the senior healers and staff. We made a plan to evacuate the less-critical patients and all unnecessary staff. I had pulled Leo into the meeting, too, and he said his engineers were more than capable of working the siege engines he’d put outside the hospital.

Once our plan was underway, though, it hit an unexpected snag. Nico refused to leave with the less-critical patients.

“No,” he said when I told him what was happening.

I felt like he hadn’t understood me. “Nico, there’s an attack headed this way. You’re well enough to move, and you’re the heir to the throne of Hades. I can’t let you stay.”

“I’m not asking permission, Will. I’m informing you that I’m not leaving.” He stared me down. “There are still Hadeans here. They’re my responsibility. And you and your staff saved my life. I’m not abandoning you.” He lifted one arm, displaying his tattoos. “I can call upon the dead to protect us. It’ll give us a chance until reinforcements arrive.”

Magical gifts like that never came free. “And how much will it cost you to call upon the dead?”

The look that crossed his face told me I was correct to ask. In a moment, though, he’d smoothed out his features and said, “Not so much that I won’t use what I have to defend this place.” He moved off the bed and – somewhat stiffly – began to rummage through the foot locker at the end of his bed for his weapons and armor.

I unfortunately knew an impossible case of stubbornness when I saw one. Short of drugging him, there was no way I was going to be able to keep him from doing what he was determined to, and I didn’t like my odds of being able to drug him without his noticing.

“Okay,” I finally said. “I won’t fight you. But first, take off your shirt and lie down.” Nico stared at me. “I’m serious. If you’re going to do this, I’m going to finish healing you, first.”

“You’ll need your strength if there are more casualties,” Nico pointed out. “I won’t let you deplete yourself for me.”

“I’m not asking permission, Nico,” I echoed back to him. “And it looks like neither of us is getting all we want today. Off with the shirt, and lie down.”

Apparently, he saw the same stubbornness in me, because he complied. His belly was still mottled with bruises and fresh scars from the wounds he’d taken before. I had healed the life-threatening damage, but he was right; I had to conserve my power. My father hadn’t been able to, and it had cost him his life.

But I laid my hands on Nico’s belly and sank in, knowing that he’d need the strength I could give him. I repaired the bruising and swelling, knit together bones that hadn’t quite healed, strengthened weak spots in his organs. I couldn’t replace all the blood he’d lost, but he was no longer dangerously low.

When I was satisfied with his condition, I pulled back into my own body and removed my hands. Nico was staring at me with the most curious look on his face, a touch of color in his cheeks. My knees wobbled a little, and I sat down in one of the bedside chairs. I’d used a lot of energy, but not a dangerous amount.

“You really are a powerful healer,” Nico mused. “Do you feel pain when you do it?”

I nodded. “Of course. But it’s not mine, so it’s bearable.”

Kayla came running in. “Will! We’ve spotted something on the horizon.”

I stood up, ignoring a little dizziness. “Okay. Take all the archers we have and put them on the roof. We can at least cover the evacuees’ retreat.”

“Where do you want me?” asked my mother’s voice.

I turned to face her, dismayed. “With the evacuees! You were supposed to _leave_ , Mama!”

She folded her arms. “Not while my only child is here. Tell you what, I’ll go cut bandages.” She swanned out before I could even finish spluttering.

Both Kayla and Nico laughed at me. I glared at them and went to check on the situation.

There was a cloud of dust forming on the horizon, the sign of a not-inconsiderable force coming our way. It gave me a sour feeling in the pit of my stomach. In a few hours, they’d be here.

During that time, we prepared. All the patients who couldn’t be evacuated were moved into a single ward. Some patients had, like Nico, also refused evacuation. The ones who were well enough to fight put on armor and took up arms. I put on some light armor myself, ready to become a combat medic again. Most of the healers were from my home state of Apollo, where every child was taught archery. The most able archers relocated to the roof. Leo and his team prepped the siege engines outside.

By the time we finished our preparations, we could hear the enemy soldiers approaching. I went up to the roof to get a better view of them. The force was relatively small, but more than enough to utterly destroy the hospital. They’d brought giants with them, of course; Gaea was full of giants and other monsters.

I went back down to the ground floor. Nico waited there in full armor, his face painted. Leo was watching the enemy approach through a field glass, muttering in his own language. Abruptly, he lowered the glass.

“Okay, they’re in range. Light ‘em up!” he shouted.

Three heavy _thunks_ answered him as the catapults fired. Their missiles streaked across the sky and exploded as they struck home. Ballista bolts followed. They were precision instruments, aimed straight at the two largest giants.

Leo ran around, getting the catapults reloaded. The Gaean force had been disarrayed by their attack, but they were far from destroyed. One of the giants pulled a ballista bolt out of its side and continued its approach as if nothing had happened.

“We’ll be within their weapons range soon,” Nico said. The other soldiers had deferred to his leadership.

“Well, we’ve got a building to retreat into, if need be,” I said.

“Do so. I’m not going to pull my surprise until the last minute.” He watched the approaching force steadily, betraying no sign of fear.

Leo was able to get off another volley from the catapults and another two from the ballistae before Gaean arrows started flying our way. Our archers answered without nearly the numbers, but with great accuracy.

There was a third volley from the catapults. It would have to be the last; they weren’t meant for the short range. The engineers instead pulled out fine, Hephaestus-forged weapons and joined the little force of soldiers. Overhead, the archers and ballistae continued to fire. I noticed that Leo had disappeared.

And then Nico stepped out in front of the soldiers. He spread his bare arms and called out in the Old Tongue, and shadowy figures erupted from his arms. It was hard to count them, but there were at least twenty. Each carried glowing purple weapons.

Nico drew Shadow, his own sword, and he and the defending force charged into battle.

I was stunned at the effect of the dead on the opposing soldiers. The giants seemed to panic at their presence, as did the officers’ horses, which screamed and bucked and refused to go forward. It gave our little force a chance, anyway.

As did Nico. His prowess with a sword hadn’t been exaggerated. He was swift and graceful and deadly.

I tore my eyes away from him and became a combat medic again. We all knew this was just a stopgap measure to give the evacuees a chance and maybe survive until help arrived. In no time, I was dragging a Jovian soldier out of the fray.

And then something happened that gave us an even greater chance. A bronze dragon flew overhead, breathing fire, torching the rear flank of the enemy force. It took them by utter surprise and caused visible panic in their ranks. Leo howled from Festus’s back, jubilant.

The force was still overwhelming, but I could feel our determination not to give up. Our soldiers, with the dead giving them cover, cut deep into the enemy soldiers. Waves of arrows flew overhead. Festus made another pass. I spotted Calypso in the mix, too, disrupting the flights of enemy arrows and spears, sending them off-course.

How long it went on, I couldn’t say. But then eagles screamed overhead, and a Jovian cohort led by General Jason himself on a pegasus dropped out of the sky. He shouted, and lightning struck the enemy force, with deafening thunder following.

At their entrance, the healers who’d been on the roof came down and joined me. We pulled the wounded from the fray and treated them just inside the hospital. I was so busy I couldn’t pay attention to the fight, but I eventually realized the sounds of battle were becoming fainter. The enemy was in retreat. The Jovian cohort pursued them, harrying them as they tried to escape.

We had survived, and at a comparatively light cost. We had lost two soldiers and an engineer, and the hospital itself had taken some damage. I had numerous injuries to treat, some severe. But we’d survived.

Eventually, the most seriously injured soldiers were stable, and Victoria ordered me to take a break. I went outside to breathe some air and find out how things had finally shaken down in the battle.

Nico and Jason were speaking in the (now ruined) courtyard. The Jovian cohort was returning from its mop-up operation. Also, there were dead people standing around. They were all turned toward Nico, as if waiting for their next cue.

“How is everything?” I asked.

Nico gestured toward me. “Jason, I believe you and Will have met?”

“We have.” Jason smiled and shook my hand. He was really a stunning man, tall and beautifully built, with golden hair and the same electric blue eyes as his sister. “Will, it’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise,” I said. “Your sister was here a few days ago, by the way.”

“Really? It’s too bad I missed her. I don’t see her much unless Father calls her home to play happy families.” He patted Nico’s shoulder. “It’s good to see my little baby cousin, at least.”

Nico shoved Jason’s hand away, but he had a smile on his face while he did it. “Want a swordfight? We’ll see who’s the little baby then.”

Gwen, one of Jason’s lieutenants, marched up and saluted. “Sire, the last of the enemy force has been wiped out.”

“Good.” He looked at me. “The only way to stop these sorties is to make it clear that they’ll result in total destruction. My father has made it official policy.”

I was a healer; I instinctively wanted to preserve life. Yet I couldn’t disagree with Emperor Jupiter’s orders. If Gaea’s forces were deliberately targeting hospitals, they had crossed a line no army in Jovian history had.

“So, we’re done.” Nico’s voice held a note of finality, like he was bracing himself.

Jason looked at him, compassion in his features. “Yes, I suppose we are.”

Nico turned to face the dead. Again, he spoke in the Old Tongue, and the dead dissolved back into dust and were reabsorbed into Nico’s skin.

He staggered. Jason caught him. I instinctively reached out to touch him, my healer’s senses reaching out.

“Don’t,” Nico groaned, but it was too late. I touched him, and agony lanced through me. It felt like all my muscles were contracting, like even my bones ached.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to set the pain aside as I had so many times before.

“It’s the price he pays when he calls on the dead,” Jason said, his voice soft and weary. “He experiences the death agony of his soldiers every time.”

I helped Jason drag Nico in and place him in a bed. There was nothing physically wrong with him, nothing but this pain. “What can I do for you?” I asked him.

“Nothing. Nothing works. It’ll . . . it’ll be over when it’s over.” Nico looked at me through pain-filled eyes. “There are others who you can help. I’ll survive.”

I hesitated, not wanting to leave him alone when he was in this much pain. Then my mother was at my side.

“I’ll stay with him, Will. Go do what you need to do.” Mama went to Nico and started helping him out of his armor, humming a lullaby she’d sung to me when I was little. If there was anyone who could make Nico feel better, I reflected, it was Mama.

Reluctantly, I left.

***

When I returned to the east ward hours later, deep into the night, Nico was finally asleep. He twitched a little as he slept as muscle spasms racked his body, and occasionally, he let out little, miserable sounds, but when I touched him, the pain had eased, though it wasn’t completely gone.

Mama had stayed with him the whole time. He was holding one of her hands close to his chest, practically curled around it, and she stroked his hair and face and sang to him. I felt a pang in my heart. How long had it been since Nico had experienced a mother’s love and comfort? No wonder he’d responded so well to Mama.

A few of the other beds in the ward were taken up with uninjured, but exhausted, Jovians. Jason, his armor off, paced among them. When I entered, he walked toward me.

“How are the injured?” he asked, voice quiet.

“Stable and recovering,” I said. “We haven’t lost any more. We would have, if you hadn’t shown up. Thank you.”

Jason smiled and shook his head. “You and your hospital deserve credit for holding them off as long as you did.”

I looked over at Nico. “He deserves the most credit. He knew it would hurt him this much, but still . . .”

“He’s the strongest person I’ve ever known,” said Jason. “We all pay for our gifts, but none more than Nico. I think it’s because . . . Percy and I can command natural forces. The wind, the water, lightning. It’s impersonal. I feel tired afterward, but nothing more. But Nico commands the souls of the dead. They’re intimately bound to him. They trust him with everything they are. So, it has to hurt him. But he’s still the one who browbeat his own father into joining the war, knowing what it would cost him.”

“He’s extraordinary,” I murmured.

Jason’s sharp eyes focused on my face, and I blushed, realizing I’d just betrayed my growing feelings for Nico in front of his closest friend, who was a very intimidating man, indeed.

But Jason just smiled again. “You know, he can hold a grudge like no one I’ve ever met, but he never, ever forgets a kindness. He’s had too little of it in his life. I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw him again after he’s left your hospital.” He reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “Get some rest, healer. You’ve more than earned it.”

I didn’t want to leave Nico, so I collapsed in another bed in the ward and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

***

“Will.”

Nico’s voice pulled me out of sleep. My eyes felt like someone had poured paste in them, but I forced them open.

Nico was standing close to my bed, clothed and in his armor, his sword belt around his waist and his hair braided back into the usual plait Hadean soldiers wore.

“Is there trouble?” I asked, sitting up.

Nico shook his head. “No. Just a transport. I’m going to be leaving with Jason and the soldiers who are ready to go. I wanted to . . . I wanted to thank you before I left.”

My heart plunged. Of course Nico was ready to go. I’d healed him completely the day before, and he was obviously over the effects of summoning the dead.

I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

“There’s – there’s no need to thank me,” I said. “You saved all of us yesterday.”

“Need or not, you have my thanks, not just for myself, but for how well my people were treated by you.” Nico fidgeted with a silver skull ring he wore. “Please, thank your mother for me, too, when she awakens.”

I stood and held out my hand. “It’s been an honor, Prince Nicolas of the Angels.”

He took my hand and simply held it for a long moment. I felt like he was considering something. The moment stretched taut with tension.

And then it was over. “For me as well. I trust our paths will cross again. Goodbye, William Solace of House Apollo.”

“Goodbye.”

He walked to the door, and then he turned back, looked at me searchingly. I had the mad urge to run to him, to pull him close and kiss him before I lost the chance forever.

But I didn’t, and then he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Petteia is a game that was played in Ancient Greece. It's like a cross between checkers and backgammon.


	3. The Angel Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war comes to an end, and Will wonders if he'll ever see his prince again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, four chapters. Seriously, that'll be all.
> 
> Also, am I the only one who thinks Reyna and Olujime ("Jimmy" from ToA: The Dark Prophecy) would make a hot couple? I hope not.

And then the war was over.

Duchess Athena read a tactic of desperation in the strikes on hospitals, and the Selenite and Hermesian spies in the land confirmed it. Queen Gaea was losing the war; her allies were abandoning her, she’d stripped her country of resources, and her people had lost heart. Or died, thanks to the war or her neglect.

The combined efforts of the Empire pushed the front straight to Gaea’s citadel, which was conveniently located near a bay where the Neptunian navy could keep them pinned down. I refused to stay at the border and volunteered to work at a field hospital set up in an abandoned manor house near the front.

Once we attacked the citadel, the war was over with stunning speed, thanks to a daring, near-suicidal gambit concocted by Prince Jason, his wife Princess Piper, and Leo Valdez. Leo nearly died, and Master Asclepius, the greatest healer in the empire, barely pulled him back from the brink of death.

The night the citadel fell, I worked harder than I’d ever worked in my life. One soldier blurred into another. I used my powers sparingly, healing only the most dangerous of wounds, but utter exhaustion eventually caught up with me. Another healer, I couldn’t tell you who, gently pushed me away from the OR and told me to get some sleep.

I shambled away toward the rooms the healers had been using to crash. To my surprise, I found Princess Hazel in the hallway, sobbing softly.

I knelt by her. “Hazel? What is it?”

“He’s in so much pain,” she whispered. “He’s hurting so badly, and I can’t help him.”

“Frank?” No, my brain caught up with me. “Nico. He had to summon the dead, didn’t he?” Somehow, my heart simultaneously leaped at realizing he was here and dropped at knowing how much pain he had to be in.

Hazel lifted her face, streaked with war paint and tears. “There are so many now. I stayed with him as long as I could, but I’ll only make things worse for him when I’m like this.” She grabbed my wrist. “He likes you, Will. He trusts you. Will you stay with him?”

I was almost one of the dead myself, but I couldn’t refuse. I entered the private room where Nico had been placed to recover.

He was writhing on the bed, keening in agony, and I could understand why Hazel hadn’t been able to stay. I spotted a small basin and a washrag next to the bed; Hazel had washed his face, at least, in an effort to ease his discomfort. His skin was still white as fresh snow, though. I knelt by him, taking one of his hands. It was icy.

“Nico?” I dared to touch his face. “Nico, it’s me, Will. Remember me?”

His eyes opened and found my face. “Will.” He shuddered and groaned. “Will, I’m so cold.”

He was cold, to the point of being hypothermic. Perhaps it was just that I was so exhausted, but I didn’t think twice. I shed my shoes and climbed onto the bed, pulling him close, drawing the bunched-up blankets over the two of us. He immediately grabbed onto me, burrowing into my chest, holding me so hard it bruised. I didn’t care.

On impulse, I started singing to him. My voice isn’t nearly as good as my mother’s, but I can carry a tune. I sang the same lullaby Mama had always sung to me when I was feeling bad, and it seemed to soothe him. He still shuddered with pain and made little whimpering sounds that tore at my heart. I held him and sang to him, and eventually, we both drifted into exhausted sleep.

***

When I awoke, Nico was still deeply asleep. He looked peaceful in the growing light, and I could no longer feel any pain in him. While his grip on me had loosened, he was still pressed to my side, one arm thrown across my chest.

There was nothing I wanted more than to stay there with him, but I knew I couldn’t. He might not have been as welcoming when he wasn’t desperate for comfort; he might have thought I’d overstepped my bounds.

Also, I was starving. No wonder, since I’d barely gotten a chance to eat the day before. Carefully, I extricated myself from him, tucking the blanket around his body. He never stirred. I left the room as quietly as I could, closing the door gently.

“There aren’t many who’d have the nerve to do what you did, Will Solace.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin. When I was sure I hadn’t peed my trousers, I turned to behold General Reyna, looking as imposing as ever.

“General,” I said, heart thumping. I couldn’t tell if that was a look of disapproval on her face or whether it was just her usual I’m-unimpressed-by-you expression.

She folded her arms. “Tell me why you stayed with him. Slept in his bed.”

She wasn’t my superior; technically, I didn’t have to tell her anything. But telling her it was none of her business struck me as the worst thing I could possibly say at this juncture.

I faced her as best I could. “He needed comfort, warmth. It was – it was the only thing I could think to do. Honestly, I was so tired last night that – that my judgment might have been a little . . . off.”

She stepped closer, her eyes stripping me to the bone. “Are you in love with him?”

In that moment, I knew I was. It wasn’t just a crush. A healer can’t let himself be intimidated by anything, even death, so I pulled myself together and looked Reyna in the eye.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m in love with him. I don’t ask or expect anything of him, and if I overstepped, I will apologize. But yes, I’ve been in love with him ever since he landed in my hospital.”

Something like approval glinted in Reyna’s eyes. “You’re strong. Strong in a way not a lot of warriors would appreciate,” she mused, still searching my face for something I didn’t understand. “But I think he would. Good morning, Will Solace.”

With that, she brushed past me, and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

***

I went down to the cafeteria (which was once a ballroom), where the cooks had set up huge pots of porridge. I got a big bowl and a cup of tea and went to one of the big trestle tables to eat. Almost as soon as I’d sat down, though, I heard my name. I looked up to see Princess Hazel approaching and rose to greet her.

She immediately breached any kind of royal protocol by throwing her arms around me. “Thank you so much for taking care of him.” She sounded a little teary in my ear.

I hugged her back, a little awkwardly. It was an unprecedented situation for me. The words “It was nothing” presented themselves for my approval, but they were a lie; sleeping with Nico in my arms had been far from “nothing.” Instead, I settled for, “It was my privilege, Princess.”

When Hazel released me, I realized she’d had a tall, stunning young woman in tow: Princess Piper. Imperial Crown Prince Jason’s wife was considered perhaps the most beautiful woman in Neptune. She was the only daughter of Tristan, Lord Aphrodite, and she and Jason had wed just last year. I was glad to see Piper up and about; she and Jason had pushed their magical abilities to the limit and had been brought to the hospital unconscious, though only superficially wounded. She still looked tired and drawn, but to no great detriment of her beauty.

She smiled at me. “Will, it’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you up and about,” I said. “How are you feeling?”

“Wrung out. Grateful it worked and we survived. Worried about Leo.” Her brow crinkled. “Have you looked in on him yet this morning? They have him in a private ward only healers can enter.”

“No, not yet, but he’s in Master Asclepius’s hands. If he gets to you while you’re alive – or, according to rumor, even freshly dead – you’ll survive. Leo will be all right.” I made to sit down, but Hazel grabbed me.

“Please, eat with us,” she said, indicating a table that already had Crown Prince Perseus of Neptune and General Frank Zhang sitting at us.

It was rich company, but I actually knew Percy quite well. Lord Apollo loved the beaches of Neptune, and he’d take his whole family to spend at least a month on them every summer. It wasn’t unusual for Queen Poseidon’s family to join us. Salina, Queen Poseidon (“Call me Sally!”) was extremely down-to-earth for a monarch. She and her consort, Paul, had the type of marriage I hoped to have one day. They’d had a later-in-life daughter in addition to Percy, the Princess Estelle, and it was downright adorable to see Percy with his little sister.

“Good morning, Percy,” I said as we approached. “General Frank, it’s good to see you again.” Frank looked much less frightening without his war paint and armor, especially when he looked at Hazel with such adoration.

“Will! I didn’t realize you were here.” Percy stood and offered a hand to shake, green eyes sparkling. He was cute, with his rumpled dark hair and friendly smile. He wasn’t quite as tall or broad-shouldered at Jason, having more of a swimmer’s build, but he was deadly with a sword, and he was extraordinarily powerful when it came to water. His gifts outstripped even his mother’s; there were those who said no one since the original King Poseidon could control water the way he did.

I shook his hand. “Percy! You totally should have!”

He laughed and gave a self-deprecating shrug. “Yeah, well, we all know who the brains in the family is, and it ain’t me.”

“How is Annabeth, anyway?” I asked, sitting down. “I kind of expected to see her hanging around with the brass, being all tactical.”

Percy’s smile grew even brighter. “She’s been doing her plotting from the back because she’s pregnant. Four months along!”

“Congratulations!” I was genuinely happy for them. Percy would make a great father.

Hazel and Piper already appeared to know the news. So did Jason, when he joined us a moment later. I ignored the conversation in favor of eating. Nico’s name finally attracted my attention. To my disappointment (and, to be honest, partially to my relief), it wasn’t because he’d made an appearance in the cafeteria.

“How is Nico this morning?” Jason asked Hazel.

“Will stayed with him last night,” said Hazel. I choked on my porridge. She didn’t appear to notice. “How was he when you left him, Will?”

I could feel myself blushing all the way down to my toes. “Uh, he was resting comfortably.”

That brought a murmur of approval from Percy, Jason and Frank, and a particularly sharp look from Piper. I tried to avoid her gaze, but couldn’t help but glance at her. The look on her face said I had not, in any way, been successful at hiding my feelings for Nico from her. I cursed silently and hurried to finish my breakfast.

Kayla approached our table, looking a bit intimidated at all the royalty.

“Hi, Kayla,” said Percy, casual as ever.

“Prince Perseus, it’s good to see you again.” Kayla’s formal manner told me she wasn’t just here to say hello. She had a folded piece of paper in her hand, which she proffered to Jason. “Your Imperial Highness, there’s a message for you.” He took the paper from her. Duty done, Kayla looked up at me. “Will, whenever you’re finished, we need you in the wards.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be with you in a minute, Kay.”

She hurried off, looking relieved.

Jason groaned softly at whatever was in the note. Piper peeked over his shoulder. “Ugh,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

“What is it?” Percy asked.

“Something I hoped we could put off for at least a day, but no.” Jason handed the paper to Percy. “My father wants us to make Decisions. All the top brass and nobility with a rank higher than ‘The Honorable’ in the area are being called to the citadel to discuss the situation in Gaea. I predict a great many boring meetings and pointless debates.”

“Which I get to skip out on because I’m only a ‘The Honorable,’” I said, with no small amount of smugness.

Jason smirked at me. “Enjoy it while you can. My father’s gearing up to give out knighthoods, and a little harpy tells me one’s aimed your way, Will.”

“Well, it’ll please my mother.” I finished scraping out my bowl and stood. “In the meantime, I have my duties. Have fun with your meetings.”

I left the cafeteria for the wards, where I spent a few hours changing bandages and checking on wounds. Master Asclepius eventually called me in to consult on Leo’s case. Leo had been placed in a private room, where Master Asclepius was staying with him around the clock.

So, for that matter, was Calypso. She was quiet and red-eyed as Master Asclepius and I discussed Leo’s condition and how best to help him recover.

Leo looked terrible, quite frankly. His skin had a greenish cast to it, and he was covered in superficial burns. That was the most alarming thing; Leo’s pyromancy normally protected him from being injured by fire. He’d pressed his abilities to the absolute limit and nearly destroyed himself in the conflagration that had breached the citadel and ended the war.

But there were encouraging signs. His lungs sounded clear, and his pulse was strong. We’d gotten to him in time. He would be a long time recovering, but he would recover.

I offered to stay with Leo while Master Asclepius took a break, which he gratefully accepted. The moment he left, Calypso pulled out a vial of oil and anointed Leo’s face, and she murmured a chant in her own language as she burned herbs beside the bed. I sat and watched.

When she finished, Calypso looked at me. “Thank you. Master Asclepius has little regard for our ways, but . . . I feel better for doing what I can for Leo, whether or not it helps.”

“It’s okay,” I reassured her. “I understand.”

She gave me a wavering little smile. “I told myself it would just be an adventure. I’d see a little of the world, and then I’d get pregnant and go home to raise my daughter. But now, I – I can’t bear to think of not being with him.” A tear ran down her face, and she sniffled softly. “Madame Circe is unhappy with me. And perhaps I have lost sight of what it means to be a witch of the Trivium, but . . .” she shrugged helplessly.

“You’ve found that you want more. I get it, Calypso, I really do.” I thought about Nico. “We can’t keep ourselves from wanting more, even when we can’t have it. You and Leo have been happy together, and you’ve done great things. You may not be a witch of the Trivium any longer, but who says that’s what you were meant to be?”

She smiled at me. “Exactly. I don’t know where life will take me next, but . . .” She took Leo’s hand. “He and I will go there together.” Her expression was soft, loving. “Sometimes, we do get what we want.”

My heart ached a little. I was happy for Leo and Calypso. He was injured, but he’d recover with his lover at his side. That was something not everyone had. It had been years since I’d had a lover in my life. The life of a healer in a war didn’t leave a lot of time for relationships.

And now I was in love with the most impossible man of all.

***

I didn’t see Nico at all for the rest of the time I was at the field hospital. I didn’t see Percy, Jason or Hazel, either, for that matter, though the generals did periodically stop by to see their troops. The Concludium at the citadel kept the royals and nobles in meetings for over a week as Dreamers and some air spirits kept communications between them and the Imperial Senate going. Gaea’s kingdom had suddenly become the responsibility of the Jovian Empire, and that was something Emperor Jupiter took seriously.

I had my duties, too. Every day, I looked after the wounded. Some would leave with their lives permanently altered because of wounds they’d taken, but no one ever leaves war whole.

Finally, the last of the wounded were ready for transport, and we took the long road home. There were shortcuts we could take, thanks to the geomancers, or the trip would have taken months. Instead, I arrived back at Delos two weeks after we left Gaea. I was ready for a rest.

Of course, I didn’t get much of one. I was called to court almost as soon as I got back. There, I was given a knighthood by Emperor Jupiter, and the title of Master of Healing was bestowed upon me by Master Chiron.

“So, does that make you Sir Master William Solace, or Master Sir William Solace?” Austin asked impishly.

I gave him a Look. “I think it officially makes me better than you.”

“That’s cold, bro. Hades cold.” Austin looked thoughtful. “Almost like that crush of yours is rubbing off on you . . .”

“Up yours, Austin.”

I didn’t mind Austin’s ribbing, really. I either had to find a sense of humor about my hopeless romantic situation or die crying.

Just as I was resigning myself to never seeing Nico again, Lord Apollo pulled me into his study one fine morning.

“I received an invitation to a ceremony honoring the war dead in Hades,” he told me. “Also, Princess Hazel’s wedding. The Hadeans do like to mix life and death in ways that strike me as frankly morbid.”

A stone settled in my stomach. “So, you’re going to be leaving for Hades soon?”

“Yes. But not alone.” He passed me a sheet of parchment. “The invitation explicitly includes you and your mother. You didn’t tell me that you saved Crown Prince Nicolas’s life.”

My heart started racing. I was being specifically invited to the palace of King Hades. Did that mean Nico remembered me and wanted to see me? Or had Hazel told her father I’d saved Nico’s life, and King Hades had taken the initiative to invite me? Either way, I’d see Nico again.

“I – I’m honored,” I stammered. “Mama will be thrilled, too. She’s never been to Hades. Well, neither have I, but, um . . . it’ll be winter, so we’ll have to pack warm clothing, I suppose . . .”

Gods help me, I kept rambling in that same, inane manner for a short eternity before I finally stumbled to a halt and dared to look at Lord Apollo. Who was grinning.

“So, I take it the rumors are true?” he asked. “You’ve taken rather a fancy to him?”

I cursed my blushing face. It was like being constantly dosed with some kind of truth potion. “He’s – he’s the most extraordinary person. I doubt he thinks of me that way, but yes, I, um, kind of fell for him.”

Lord Apollo gave me a gentle, knowing smile. “Will, I couldn’t love you better, or be more proud of you, if you were my own son. And Prince Nicolas would be privileged to have you in his life. Don’t underestimate the effect you have on people. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the prince who insisted you be included in the invitation.” He winked. “And the Kingdom of Hades always needs sun crystals, don’t forget. I could make a very favorable trading deal.”

My ears were almost painfully hot. “Don’t jump straight to a betrothal, please. I’ll just be happy to see him again.”

Lord Apollo sighed, leaning back. “I once loved a Hadean man. They’re always so controlled on the outside, but don’t mistake that for a lack of passion. They have to have something to do on those long, cold winter nights, after all.”

I stood up abruptly. Once Lord Apollo got to talking about his past affairs, things could get very embarrassing, very quickly. “I’ll go tell Mama.”

***

I’ll never forget the trip north. The cold wet of the Summerlands winter season gave way to ice and snow as the rolling hills gave way to sharp-peaked mountains. The scenery was just as wild and beautiful as it had been in Nico’s Dreaming. I began to feel like I understood Nico’s amusement at our mountains when I first saw the Erebus Range in person; I’d never felt so small. The cold closed in on us, too, until the sun crystals in the carriages (which had to change their wheels to sled runners) could barely keep it at bay.

I’ll never forget the sight of the blue-green Avernus Glacier as we passed the border into Hades, or the first sight of the Hadean Royal Palace, dark and brooding and utterly dwarfed by the surrounding mountains. I’ll never forget my first glimpse of Queen Persephone’s Garden, a fantastical landscape of trees festooned with multicolored lanterns and sculptures of snow and ice. 

But all that was secondary to seeing Nico again.

Upon arrival, we were invited to the throne room to greet the royal family. I’d been in the throne rooms of King Poseidon (designed to look like it was underwater) and Emperor Jupiter (gold, purple, could house a small town). This one was magnificent, but almost austere compared to the other two. It was made of white and black marble, with red draperies and silver decorations. At the far end were the king’s and queen’s thrones, where King Hades and Queen Persephone sat. Flanking them were Hazel and Nico. Hazel stood by the queen, and Nico stood next to his father.

Everything else faded to the background when I saw him. He was dressed in royal finery, black and silver with a red-lined cape, and he looked beautiful in every way.

Our eyes met. His expression didn’t change, but neither did he look away. We held eye contact until Lord Chamberlain Charon announced us.

Lord Apollo and his current primary consort, Lady Cyrene, were announced first, and Kayla and Austin (neither of whom was Lady Cyrene’s child) next. Then it was my turn.

“Sir William Solace, and the Honorable Naomi Solace!” intoned the chamberlain.

We stepped forward and bowed. I finally looked at the king and queen. King Hades looked a lot like his son, with the addition of a beard; they had the same bone structure. Queen Persephone was pale blond, as cold and beautiful as a winter’s morning. Hazel beamed at me from beside her, fire to the queen’s ice.

“Sir William, I am given to understand that you saved my son’s life,” said the king.

I’d been prepared for this, rehearsing my response well beforehand. “It was a great privilege to help the crown prince in the course of my duties, Your Majesty, especially since he saved many lives when my hospital was attacked by Gaea’s forces.”

King Hades nodded, as if taking this in. “Nonetheless, you have my thanks. My children have both spoken positively of you and your mother, and you are welcome in my palace. I hope you will attend the reception ball tomorrow night.”

I made eye contact with Nico again. “It would be our pleasure.”

His mouth quirked slightly, and something warm and thrilling settled into my gut.

***

I wore my House Apollo finery, which was white and yellow with the House Apollo sun sigil, the following night. I admit I fussed over my hair perhaps longer than strictly necessary.

“You really have it bad for him, don’t you?” Mama asked as I chased down yet another stray wisp.

“Who?” I asked automatically, aware I was being stupid.

She smacked my shoulder lightly. “Don’t even try that with your Mama. You look very handsome, and I’m sure he’ll be taken with you.”

At least, I thought later, at the ball, I was playing it cool better than Frank, who was marrying Hazel in a few days. He looked great in his finery and much less terrifying without the face paint, but he was truly in a state. Facing down enemy forces was something he could do without a second thought, but marrying the woman he was head-over-heels in love with in front of the gods and every noble in the empire? Not so easy. I tried to talk him down while Reyna watched in amusement. She looked gorgeous in her gown, with her hair caught up in gold clips and tumbling over her shoulders.

Talking to Frank distracted me while the noble families were being presented. After Duchess Athena and her escort, her son Malcolm, descended the grand staircase, I paused in talking to Frank to watch Queen Poseidon and her family enter. The queen was escorted by King Consort Paul, and Percy, Annabeth and Princess Estelle followed them. It was cute to see Percy holding his young sister’s hand on one side and giving an arm to his pregnant wife on the other. Annabeth’s blue dress draped gracefully over her belly.

Normally, the order of entrance would have been the Hadean royals, the Neptunian royals, and then the Imperial royal family. However, as King Hades was our host, his family would enter last. Emperor Jupiter and Empress Juno, dressed in purple and gold, entered after the Neptunians. Jason and Piper followed, and Thalia, who’d apparently been persuaded to play happy families (and didn’t look thrilled about it), followed them. She was pointedly wearing white and silver, not matching the rest of her family at all.

Finally, King Hades and Queen Persephone entered. He wore black, while she was resplendent in silver. Nico, also in black, and Hazel, standing out in her red dress, followed their father and the queen.

I only had eyes for Nico. He was smiling, as was Hazel, like they’d just shared a joke. His hair was pulled back into a complex knot at the back of his head. He looked gorgeous, of course.

Reyna cleared her throat, making me jump. I guess it must’ve looked funny, because she and Frank both started laughing. I glared at them and went to get a glass of wine.

The ball itself was fun. I’ve always enjoyed a good party, and there were plenty of people to talk and dance with. As the hosts, the Hadean royal family had protocols to follow, and I was low on the list of people they had to talk to.

I was talking with Leo Valdez, who had recovered remarkably well and had received a knighthood and some of the highest accolades in the Empire, as well as Piper, Jason and Frank, when the currents and eddies of the party finally brought Hazel and Nico to us. 

I took Hazel’s hand. “Princess Hazel, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

She laughed. “Will, I think you’ve earned the right to use my name without my title.”

“I don’t know,” said Nico, a smile playing at the edges of his lips. “Maybe he wants to be called ‘Sir William.’ Is that what you’d like, Sir William?”

I gave him my best serious look. “I prefer Master William, actually.”

“Master William.” The way Nico said it, and the look in his eyes, made heat rush through my body. “That does have a nice ring.”

Piper suddenly grabbed Jason’s arm and pointed across the room. “Look, Jason, we have to rescue my father from Count Hermes.” She hustled him off.

And then Hazel told Frank, “Frank, Annabeth promised to introduce us to her cousin Magnus, from the Nordlands. Come on.” She hustled him off.

Leo looked a little confused at the sudden disappearance of our friends. Calypso murmured something, pointing out where Reyna was speaking to the Africanus ambassador, Olujime. And then they were gone, too.

Suddenly, Nico and I were alone. He set his wine goblet down on a nearby table and offered me his hand. “Come, Master William. I want to show you something.”

I took his hand and followed him, heart beating faster as he led me away from the ball. We moved down a few hallways and ended up in a dark gallery, where he opened the glass doors to a strangely familiar balcony.

It was the place I’d seen in Nico’s Dreaming, when he’d told me it was his favorite place to be alone and think. I pulled my cloak around me as we stepped into the freezing air. It was so cold that my breath sparkled with ice crystals.

“Look up,” said Nico.

I did, and I forgot about breathing. The Angel Lights danced in the sky in every shade of the rainbow. Somehow, here, seeing them with my own eyes and not through Nico’s memories, they were all the more mysterious, beautiful, and awe-inspiring. 

“It’s like – it’s like visible music,” were the only words I could find to express what I was seeing and feeling.

“They filled the sky when I was born,” Nico said. “My mother saw them and called me Nico of the Angels. My father changed my name to Nicolas, but the story got out, of course. People knew who my mother was, where she came from, and the name Nicolas of the Angels stuck. It annoys the queen, so there’s no real downside.”

I looked over at him. “I just thought it was because you’re so beautiful.” I hadn’t meant to say those words, but they came straight out of my heart.

His eyes fixed on me, then, and he stepped closer, holding my eyes with his. I felt like the Angel Lights were filling my chest as he approached.

“Your Royal Highness, the toasts are about to begin. You’re needed back at the ballroom!”

The crabby voice shattered the moment so thoroughly that I stumbled. An old, skinny, gnarled-looking man stood in the doorway.

“ _Di inferi_ ,” Nico swore under his breath. “Yes, Lord Chancellor Geras. I’ll be right there.”

Lord Chancellor Geras turned and began making his way back, grumbling about how when he was young, they didn’t put up with this sort of thing.

Nico looked at me, resignation in his face. “Time to get back, I suppose.”

I followed him back to the ball, regret in every step.

***

To my deep disappointment, I didn’t get to speak to Nico again for the rest of the night. Piper seemed sympathetic, but she was also in the process of trying to keep running Reyna and Olujime into each other. Aphroditans suffer from a collective inability to not meddle in one’s love life.

I left the ball as soon as it was polite to do so, pleading lingering exhaustion from our long journey. I’d been given a beautiful room with a bathtub that could be filled with hot water from a tap. The chamberlain had explained that hot steam from deep underground had been harnessed to provide heat for the palace. Whatever the reason, I was glad to take a bath before bed.

Afterward, I sat down on the bed, going over the evening in my mind. Had I been imagining Nico flirting with me? I liked to think I was good at spotting these things, but years of not having any opportunity for relationships could make one’s skills rusty. I just hoped I hadn’t made too much of a fool of myself in front of him . . .

As quietly as the Angel Lights, Nico emerged from one of the shadows. I’d heard of the ability of some Hadeans to move between shadows, but I’d never seen it until that moment.

He was shirtless, his hair loose around his shoulders, and his skin glowed like moonlight. His eyes held mine as he approached.

I couldn’t move. I felt hypnotized as he came closer and closer to me. He stopped right in front of me, looking down into my face, and then slowly, as if unsure of his welcome, reached out and set a hand on my shoulder. When I didn’t stop him, he set one knee on the bed beside me, and then the other, so he was straddling my lap. His hands ran over my shoulders and into my hair.

My hands seemed to move on their own, touching him at the waist and then running up over his back, drawing him closer. Slowly, ever so slowly, his face moved toward mine until I could feel his breath on my lips.

By the time our lips met, I wanted nothing in the world more than that kiss. I’d have given anything, done anything, and it would’ve been worth it.

It started out gently, his lips soft against mine. But I couldn’t hold back; I’d wanted this man for so long, and here he was, in my arms, kissing me. I slid a hand up into his hair and pulled his head closer as I deepened the kiss. He groaned softly into my mouth, setting my nerves on fire, and one kiss turned into another, and another . . .

Somehow, we shifted, pulling up onto the bed so we could stretch out, skin-to-skin. His kisses left my mouth and trailed down my jaw and onto my neck.

“Is – is this real? It’s not just a dream, is it?” I gasped.

His teeth sank into my neck. I never thought I’d be the type who’d enjoy getting bitten, but what that bite did to me . . . 

I wasn’t an aggressive person in life or in bed. Determined, but never aggressive. But I pushed Nico over onto his back and pressed him into the bed, kissing and nipping my way down his neck to his chest.

Nico laughed a low, dangerous laugh that went straight to my groin. “Satisfied this isn’t a dream, Will?”

I pulled back up to look at him, at the blush staining his pale cheeks. “Nico,” I said. Just his name. Nothing else seemed to matter.

His eyes softened, and he touched my face gently. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

I shook my head. “You could have any man you wanted. There must be any number vying for your attention. Why me?”

“I told you before,” he said. “They want the prince, not Nico.” He looked at me very seriously. “Who do you want, Will?”

There was only one answer. I stroked my fingers down his cheek. “Nico. Always Nico.”

His thumb slid over my lips. “I saw you in the Dreaming. You can’t trust appearances there, but you can trust souls. I felt like I knew yours.” He kissed me gently. “I don’t do this very often, take a lover.”

“Neither do I,” I told him.

“You?” He seemed unbelieving. “You’re gorgeous. You must’ve had plenty of opportunities, even in war.”

“Opportunities? Yes.” I had gotten some propositions from passing soldiers. “Energy? No. Being a healer in war consumes everything about you.” I felt my cheeks heat even more than they were already. “And by the time the war ended, I couldn’t stop thinking about a certain prince.”

“Really?” He looked theatrically confused. “Percy and Jason don’t seem like your types.”

I stroked one hand through Nico’s hair, chuckling. “ _This_ prince.”

He laughed and pulled me close again, kissing me. I could feel that he was hard. So was I. He hooked a knee around my leg, rolled our hips together, and left me gasping.

“Gods, Nico. I can’t vouch for how long this is going to last,” I managed.

He laughed again. “Then we’ll just have to try for a second round.”

We didn’t talk much after that. The cool, ironic reserve Nico had always put forth disappeared in bed. He made love to me with uninhibited passion, drawing a stronger, deeper response from me than I’d known I was capable of. It was like making love with a force of nature. For that night, there was nothing except Nico, his beauty, his strength, his soul, and it was all I needed.


	4. The Sun Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Will and Nico become closer, they begin to realize that they never want to part.

When morning came, I woke first. The sight of Nico sleeping on the next pillow, his face relaxed and sweet in the morning light, brought back the memories of the night before, and I thanked every god I knew of that it had been real. I just lay there, drinking him in, until he stirred some time later.

His eyes opened, and he smiled sleepily as he stretched and murmured, “Good morning.” 

“Good morning, beautiful.” I have to confess I hoped for a little morning loving. To my disappointment, though, Nico threw back the covers and fetched the soft trousers he’d worn the night before.

“I have to meet with my family and Charon to discuss the plan of attack for today,” he said. “If I don’t show up, the queen will have me hunted down, which would be embarrassing all around.”

“What is happening today?” I asked.

He sighed. “More welcoming events. It’s still two days until Solstice, when we’ll honor the dead, so we have banquets and exhibitions planned for the guests. Show off Hades, et cetera. Fortunately, most of it can be handled by people who aren’t me.” He leaned down and kissed me gently. “Meet me on the balcony once you’ve eaten breakfast.”

He disappeared into a shadow, and I couldn’t believe how fortunate I was.

***

It turned out I was especially fortunate that the winter wardrobe I’d picked up on the journey north included a lot of high necks. Almost the moment I stepped out of my room, I ran into Austin.

“Morning, Will – hey, what’s that on your neck?” His eyes got big. “Oh, my gods, is that what I think it is? Will Solace, what did you do last night, and who did you do it with?”

I hastily withdrew to my room, where I discovered that in my distracted state, I had managed to overlook the fact that Nico had left his mark on my neck. As lovely as the memory was, I had no desire to rehash it with my friends, family, and most of the highest nobility in the Empire. I changed into a high-necked tunic and sheepishly left my room again. Austin hadn’t moved.

“What was the question again?” I asked.

It’s a brother’s duty to never let one live anything down, and I got teased mercilessly by him and Kayla all through breakfast. I reminded them that they hadn’t had mind-blowingly great sex with a gorgeous prince the night before, so all things considered, I came out ahead. They couldn’t argue with that.

And then I left to find my prince.

I did have the brains to grab my luxurious, fur-lined cloak and a warm pair of gloves before going out onto the balcony. The day was breathtakingly cold. Ice crystals made the air glitter and had turned every tree white. It was incredibly beautiful, but I quickly found myself wanting a hot drink. The village of Styx in the valley looked cozy, with lights in the windows and smoking chimneys, and I imagined mulled wine and tea kettles on stoves.

There were footsteps on the balcony, and then someone was standing against the railing with me. While it was a handsome male with black hair, though, it wasn’t Nico. It was one of the enormous hounds of Hades that were so renowned all over the Empire.

“Hello,” I said. On its back legs, the hound was as tall as I was.

"Whuf," it replied, very politely.

“Down, Cerberus,” said Nico’s voice. The hound took its front feet off the railing and went to its master, happily wagging its tail.

Nico, of course, looked wonderful. His hair was plaited back and held with two silver clips. I was gratified to see that he, too, was wearing a high neck.

“He’s beautiful,” I said. Cerberus approached me again, and I let him sniff my hand before I dared to pet him. I didn’t think Nico would let a vicious dog loose in the palace, but he was so big that I thought caution might be for the best.

Nico smiled, scratching the hound behind his ears. “He’s my father’s favorite. He drools a bit, but he has otherwise good manners.”

“Well, there are so many people you could say that about,” I said.

Nico grinned impishly at me. “I do hope I didn’t leave a wet blotch on your pillow last night.”

“Just a little one.”

“Good.”

I laughed. It felt good to banter and tease with Nico after the previous night. He was still so fascinating to me, and I dearly wanted to know everything about him.

“So, what were you thinking about before I showed up?” Nico asked, leaning against the balustrade.

I pointed down at the village. “Just wondering about life in Styx.”

“Would you like to go down there?” Nico asked.

“We could?”

“Absolutely.” Nico took my hand. “Come. It won’t take long.”

He took me down to the lower levels of the palace, Cerberus lumbering along beside us, and we exited onto a paved path. I slipped on the ice and nearly fell on my ass, but Nico caught me and laughed.

“How do you walk on this stuff?” I asked, flustered.

“It’s a knack. Walk flat-footed; it’s the rolling motion of your foot that causes you to slip.” He steadied me as I tried. “Once we get to the stairs, they’ll have laid down sand and salt to give them traction.”

I glanced over at Cerberus, who didn’t seem to be having any trouble. He also looked like he was grinning. Great, now my lover’s dog was making fun of me.

I managed to make it to the stairs without breaking anything important, and as Nico had promised, they were much easier to walk on. They led down to a tram that ran on a continuous path up and down the side of the steep hill the palace sat on. I watched the gondola approach, fascinated.

“How does it work?” I asked.

“The geomancers tapped hot steam to turn a wheel, which powers it.” The gondola came to a slow halt at the top of its run, and Nico, Cerberus and I boarded. Once we were safely aboard, it started again.

The trip down the hill was short, but the scenery through the gondola’s windows was stunning. Nico pointed out a moose loping through the deep snow and a bald eagle soaring overhead. Once we reached the bottom of the hill, we walked along a freshly-shoveled path to the tall bridge over the river. The town was on the other side.

“It’s the oldest settlement in Hades,” Nico explained. “The first King Hades established it as a base for his soldiers and the workers who built the palace. Today, most of the palace servants call this place home. The single ones have quarters at the palace, but those with families keep homes here.”

“I read a little about the country before coming here.” That was an understatement; I’d been devouring books about Hades ever since the war ended. “I know Styx is the oldest town in Hades, but Acheron is bigger, right?”

Nico nodded. “Yes, it’s about two days’ ride to the north. Styx is hemmed in by the mountains. It can’t grow much bigger without people putting themselves at risk of getting caught in avalanches. I like it. The pace of life here is slower. People here fish in the river and grow crops and live their lives quietly. I’ve been known to envy them their contentment.”

“What kind of crops?” I asked, for lack of a better topic of conversation presenting itself. “I know that grain doesn’t grow well here.”

“No, except certain varieties of corn. Root vegetables do well here, though. So do squashes and cabbage. You should see the size of cabbage the farmers here can grow. They actually have a contest every summer. And we have our own variety of apples, of course. People also forage for berries in the summer. Bianca and I used to join them.” His eyes had grown distant. “The taste of blueberries always takes me back to those days.”

I wished I could ease Nico’s lingering sorrow. He’d lost so much at such an early age, and unlike me, he hadn’t had much family support. I could barely remember my father, but I’d always had my mother, Lord Apollo, and the various consorts and foster siblings that populated Delos. Nico only had Hazel, and in a few days, she’d be married.

We entered the town through a gate in the tall wall that surrounded it.

“Do they worry about attack here?” I asked. Hades was well away from any hostile forces.

“Not from people, no. The wall helps block the wind, and you’ll notice how thick the eastward wall is, because that side directly faces the mountains. Most avalanches won’t get this far, but occasionally, one has. The eastward wall can at least sap the power of it. The westward wall provides protection during 100-year floods along the Styx. And, of course, they do have to worry about brown bears, black bears and snow cats.”

I nodded. “What about snow bears?”

Nico shook his head. “They live too far north. Black bears are shy – though exceptionally bad-tempered when cornered – but brown bears can get aggressive when they’re hungry. They don’t often attack people, but livestock is a different story.”

We made our way to the town square, which was, in my opinion, charming. There was a skating rink where children and some adults were having a great time. I was pretty sure I’d break my tailbone within minutes if I tried that.

I slipped on the ice again, and Nico again had to catch me. “I don’t think your boots are doing the job,” he said, amused. “Come.”

He pulled me over to a cobbler’s shop facing the square. The owner immediately recognized him.

“Prince Nico! It’s good to see you again. How are those boots working for you?” the owner asked.

“Quite well, Antonio. I have a guest from the Summerlands here who needs your expertise.” Nico gestured disparagingly at my feet. “He keeps slipping, and I have a feeling his feet are freezing in those.”

He wasn’t wrong about that. Antonio had me sitting in a chair in an instant, sans boots, while he took several measures of my feet. “Yes, I have some boots in stock that would fit him. Wait just a moment.”

It wasn’t long before I left the shop in new, authentically Hadean, boots. Antonio had tried to make a gift of them, but Nico insisted on paying and asked after the man’s family.

“He’s Angelian by birth,” Nico explained as we left. “He takes pride in the fact that I’m Angelian, too. And he does make the best boots.”

“I’ll say,” I agreed. The boots had excellent traction and were doing a much better job of keeping my feet warm.

We wandered through the town for a time. The people seemed both familiar and comfortable with Nico. He was kind to them, stopping to chat about their families or their businesses, and it became obvious to me that these people loved their prince. I admired him all the more as the day went on.

Around midday, we stopped at a small, comfortable restaurant, where the owner brought us delicious apple bread (made with Hadean apples, of course) and big bowls of stew, and gave Cerberus a big bone. I tasted the stew.

“Venison?” I asked.

“Close,” said Nico. “Moose.”

“Never eaten moose meat before.” I took a big spoonful. “Moose is good.”

Nico smiled. “It is good. So’s black bear. Brown bear is terrible, though.”

“Never eaten bear, either,” I said. “I’m beginning to think my experience with wild game is a bit limited.”

That made Nico chuckle. “The people of Hades have had to find food where they can, historically. I’ve eaten seal and whale meat with the northern tribes, as well as caribou.”

We chatted about life in the northern regions as we ate. The stew was excellent. Slightly gamey, but not in a bad way. I noticed, though, that the longer we were there, the more distracted Nico grew.

“Is something wrong?” I finally asked.

“I’m – I’m not sure. I sense approaching death somewhere close.” Nico spotted the restaurant’s owner, a jovial man named Vincent, and flagged him down.

“Is everything okay?” Vincent asked.

“That’s what I was going to ask you,” said Nico. “How is your family?”

Vincent beamed. “My wife just gave birth last night. I have a son!”

“Is she all right? Your wife?” Nico asked.

“Well, the midwife is still with her.” Vincent started to look worried. “My wife insisted I open the restaurant this morning. She said she’d be fine, but the midwife was concerned about how much she was bleeding after the birth.”

Nico glanced at me, asking a silent question, and I nodded once. We both stood. “Vincent, I’d like to meet your new son,” said Nico. “This is Sir William Solace, a master healer of House Apollo. I feel we may need his aid.”

Vincent nodded, suddenly a bit pale, and he led us to the back of the restaurant, where a narrow stairway led up to the rooms where his family lived. Halfway up, a little girl about six years old, dressed to go out into the cold, met us.

“Papa, Mama is sick. Mrs. Comfort sent me to get a healer,” said the girl. Her eyes widened as she spotted Nico. “Is that the prince?”

“Yes, Gloria,” said Vincent. “He’s brought a healer with him. Come.” He took his daughter’s hand and led us up.

The moment we entered the living quarters, I felt the same pressure I’d often felt in the field hospitals. My healer’s instincts were being awakened; someone needed me. At Vincent’s hasty direction, I entered the bedroom.

Vincent’s wife lay on the bed, pale and bright-eyed with fever. Like most Hadeans, she had dark hair and dark eyes. There was no color in her cheeks or lips, and dark circles under her eyes. The midwife, an older woman, sat anxiously by her side and blinked at my sudden appearance. The new baby slept in a basket beside her. There was also a pail of bloody cloths.

“I’m a healer,” I explained. “I’m here to help.”

The midwife nodded shortly. “She’s been bleeding more than I’d like, and now she’s burning with fever.”

I went to the bed and took the mother’s hand. “I’m Will. I’m a healer. What’s your name?”

“Are you an angel?” the mother asked faintly.

I put the question down to delirium and set a hand gently on her belly. My healer’s senses located the source of the bleeding and the start of an infection. Nico had been right; she was in danger of dying if nothing intervened.

“Her name is Lavinia,” said the midwife.

I nodded my thanks, not taking my eyes off the mother. “Lavinia, I have to have skin contact to heal you. Mrs. Comfort will be here the whole time.”

The aptly-named midwife helped me to pull Lavinia’s nightgown up enough that I could touch her belly. I sank in, using my powers to heal, to push back the infection, and to give the new mother strength. Once I was satisfied that she was out of danger, I withdrew. Some color had come back into her cheeks, and she was breathing more easily.

“Healer?” she said.

“You’ll be fine now,” I assured her.

“My baby . . .” Lavinia pushed herself up a bit to look for him. “Could you make sure my baby is all right?”

Mrs. Comfort lifted the baby’s basket onto the bed. I laid a hand on his head and concentrated. He was perfectly healthy, and I told Lavinia as much.

“You need to take care of your own health now,” I told her. “Drink plenty of water or tea, and some of the excellent stew I just ate wouldn’t be amiss, either.”

“I brought some dried raspberry leaves to make tea for her,” said Mrs. Comfort. “It helps bring a mother’s milk in. Women who lose a lot of blood during childbirth sometimes have difficulty feeding their babies.”

“Yes, I understand that to be the case,” I said. “I haven’t delivered many babies, though, so I’ll bow to your knowledge. I’ll be at the palace in case you need me again, and please, don’t hesitate to call for me if either mother or baby falls ill. Ask for William Solace.”

“Thank you, healer,” said Lavinia. “I-I couldn’t bear to think of my children not having their mother.” She looked at her son, eyes shining with tears.

“What’s his name?” I asked.

“His naming day won’t be for a month.” Lavinia smiled at me. “But right now, I think perhaps William is a good name for him.”

I withdrew from the bedroom to find Nico, Vincent and little Gloria waiting. “She’ll be fine. She lost too much blood and had an infection starting, but I took care of it. Your son is completely healthy as well. Make sure your wife gets some of that stew; it’ll do her good.”

Vincent’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you. Thank you. I would be lost without her.”

“Thank your prince,” I said. “He’s the one who realized something was wrong.”

Nico shook his head. “I’m to be their ruler; their welfare is my duty.”

Gods above and below, I loved him. Vincent insisted on fetching his son so Nico could meet him. Nico held the baby easily and spoke words of blessing in the Old Tongue as I watched and fell even deeper in love. Eventually, we said our goodbyes, and I stooped to shake Gloria’s hand.

Behind me, I heard Vincent whisper to Nico, “Is he your suitor? If not, you should be his suitor!”

And Nico whispered back, “You know, I think he suits me very well, indeed.”

***

Nico, Cerberus and I wandered for a while longer, and eventually, we headed back to the river. As we were crossing the bridge, in the distance, along the Styx, I saw what looked like another city.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s the Necropolis. You’ll see it up close in two nights. It’s where we’ll honor the dead on the solstice.” Nico looked down at the Styx. A narrow channel of rushing water still flowed down the middle. Judging by the size of the bridge, the river had to be impressive during the summer. “They used to call the Styx the river of regret.”

“Why?”

“Because of a ritual every solstice. People would throw things into the river that represented their regrets for the year. It got a little out of hand, and the people of Styx started complaining about ‘regrets’ clogging the river, so a few kings ago, there was a proclamation that people should write their regrets and throw only paper in.” Nico and I both chuckled at that. “The village Styx honors all those regrets by releasing paper lanterns on the water. These days, they have a mechanism they attach to the bridge to lower the lanterns into the water. Too many people have fallen in, and if you fall into the Styx in the winter, you don’t come out. The current is too swift, and it’s too cold.”

“Given that even my breath is freezing in the air, I’m surprised there’s any open water at all,” I remarked.

He gave a laugh. “There have been years when it’s frozen over completely, and certainly, there are places where the surface freezes over, but the current is swift enough in this spot that we normally have at least a little open water. Enough for old traditions, anyway.”

I watched the dark water gurgling through the channel for a while. “I understand that many of the rivers in Hades have traditions associated with them.”

Nico nodded. “Yes. The Styx has the most. A way to solemnize oaths is to drink Styx water. According to legend, if you take an oath without the intent to keep it, the Styx water will be poison to you, or put a curse on you. You’ll see Hazel and Frank drink some at their wedding. The Lethe is said to be good for forgetting things you don’t want to remember. The Cocytus is a place people go to mourn; it’s not uncommon to have ashes spread in the Cocytus. The Acheron has been used as a means of execution for murderers; they’re trussed up and thrown into it. But it’s also a place where people go to wash away their sins. And the Phlegethon is for enduring the unendurable.”

I looked over at him, and I thought about the scene at Vincent’s house. “Nico, does it bother you, knowing that you’ll never have a child of your own?”

“Actually, the prophecy is uniquely freeing.” He looked at me. “Without that prophecy, the crisis of succession after Bianca’s death would have meant that I would be expected to provide an heir to the throne. I would have been pressured into marrying a woman, or at least taking one as secondary consort. Father would never have had any reason to reveal Hazel’s existence. So, the prophecy not only saved me from having the exact sort of marriage I always wanted to avoid, it gave me a new sister. I’m grateful for it.”

I hadn’t thought about it that way. “Then I’m happy for you.”

We headed back to the palace. Nico walked me to my room, and he kissed me softly in the quiet corridor. “I’ll see you at the banquet tonight. We’re not seated together, but you’ll be by Hazel, and she likes you.”

“I like her, too. She reminds me of some of my younger foster sisters.” Being near my room made me remember the morning. “Um, speaking of siblings, Austin spotted the bruise on my neck this morning and guessed what happened last night. Kayla knows, too. I told them I’d be grateful if they were discreet.” I realized how that could sound and hastily added, “Not that I’m ashamed – at all – but I didn’t know if you’d be okay with people knowing.” My face was heating again.

“I don’t take lovers I’d be ashamed, of, Will,” Nico said. “If people know, they know. It’s not their business, and I won’t entertain them by parading my private affairs in front of the gods and everyone, but I can’t be bothered to hide, either.”

I relaxed. “Good. I may have to smother Austin to keep him from speaking entirely in double entendres around you, but it’s good to know you won’t mind if he or Kayla lets something slip.”

Nico laughed and leaned up to kiss me again. “Your mother won’t mind that I’ve defiled and despoiled her little boy, will she?”

“You got to me late, I’m afraid. And Mama started feeling protective of you when you were in the hospital, so I might be on the business end of a motherly lecture on not defiling and despoiling sweet, innocent princes.”

That got a bigger laugh out of Nico. “I left ‘sweet’ and ‘innocent’ in the dust a long time ago. Would you be interested in more defiling and despoiling tonight?”

“Very interested.” I kissed him one last time. “Thank you for taking me to Styx today. I enjoyed meeting the people.”

“They’re real. Not like all this court bullshit.” He gave me a cynical smile. “Speaking of which, I need to start getting ready for the banquet. I’ll see you later tonight.”

***

While the banquet was lovely – I ate the best fish I’d ever had, Princess Hazel was charming company, and I had fun watching Nico chat with my mom, who’d been seated next to him – I was eager for it to be over so Nico and I could be together again. Like the previous night, he walked through shadows into my room, where we made love for half the night.

We kept close company the following day. Nico didn’t make any special effort to hide our relationship, as he’d indicated, and I found myself on the receiving end of more knowing looks than I’d ever gotten in my life. Mama guessed, of course, and was happy for me, but I could see she was concerned as well. She worried that I’d get my heart broken.

I did, too. I was completely in love with Nico, but I didn’t know exactly what he felt for me. Great fondness, certainly, and attraction, but I wondered what would happen once the time came for me to go back to the Summerlands. Would this just be a fling for him? I knew it wouldn’t, couldn’t be casual for me.

But whatever it was, I was determined to enjoy whatever Nico offered me while I was with him.

***

On Solstice Night, a caravan of sleighs took all the guests of King Hades down to the Necropolis. Once there, we all waited silently while Queen Persephone and Princess Hazel approached the gates. Hazel briefly laid her hand on them, and then, slowly and silently, they opened. The queen and princess were the first to enter, with Nico and his father behind them.

Waiting inside was Teleute. There was always a Teleute (whose name meant “end” in the Old Tongue) in the Necropolis; she was, Nico had explained, the keeper of the city, higher than any priestess. I had somehow expected her to be a wizened old woman. Instead, she was a handsome, kind-looking, middle-aged woman who reminded me of the nanny who took care of the young children of Delos.

The queen and Hazel bowed to Teleute, who bowed back. “Welcome, one and all, to the city of the dead,” said Teleute. Her voice was low, warm and musical. “On this night, we celebrate those who have gone before. Fear not grief, for grief is part of love. Fear not death, for death is part of life.”

Teleute turned and led the gathered nobles deeper into the Necropolis, which was much bigger than I’d expected. It straddled the Styx, with high flood plains on either side. Crypts, graves and statues of the _Di Inferi_ populated the quiet, colorless cityscape.

We followed Teleute to the Necromanteion, which was a sort of temple dedicated to Thanatos, the god of death. I say “sort of” because it had no walls; an interior was suggested by columns and flying arches, and there were marble benches facing the altar. Priestesses wearing white, with faces painted like Hadean soldiers' with the addition of vertical black lines leading down from their eyes, like tears, lined the sides of the open temple.

Hazel and the queen approached the altar, where a brazier burned with green flame, and they lit candles on the altar from it. Then they stood aside while Nico and his father approached. King Hades and Nico placed two large scrolls of the names of the dead on the altar. They then stood aside.

After them, each of the heads of the noble families came to the altar and placed an offering for the dead on it as a young priestess sang a dirge. Queen Poseidon left a cup of sea salt. Emperor Jupiter left a golden dagger. Duchess Athena left honey, Countess Ceres left grain, Lord Bacchus left wine, and so forth. Lord Apollo placed an arrow on the altar.

Once all of the offerings were left and the dirge ended, King Hades and Nico stepped in front of the altar again. They threw their cloaks back, baring their arms, and they released the dead. The moment they did so, the Angel Lights filled the sky in a riot of color.

Unlike how I’d seen them before, the dead were not dark, human-like forms this time. They were light, flying joyously through the city, seeming to explore it. It was . . . a celebration. That’s the only way I can put it. For this moment, they were free.

And as they danced in the darkness, paper lanterns came floating down the Styx, illuminating the Necropolis from the water. The lanterns represented letting go of regrets. In a way I couldn’t name and would think about long afterward, I felt that the spirits of the dead and the lanterns were deeply connected. Seeing them in the same space was the strangest and most beautiful experience of my life.

The moment ended when King Hades and Nico called the dead back to them. I braced myself to witness Nico’s pain again, but to my surprise, neither he nor his father seemed affected at all. The ceremony ended, and we all made our way back to the palace for the funeral feast.

As soon as I could after the feast, I caught up with Nico. I had one big question for him.

“Why didn’t it hurt?” I asked, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the Necropolis. “You released the dead, but it didn’t hurt this time. Why?”

Nico’s eyes were strangely soft. “Because this was about them. We weren’t asking them to fight for us or serve us in any way. The pain . . . it’s the price we pay for having the dead fight our battles. It forces us to use them wisely and to remember the cost of war. We suffer for them so that we can never take them for granted.”

“I love you.” The words jumped out of my mouth. I hadn’t meant to say them, but after what I’d witnessed that night, I felt I’d seen into his soul. He was the strongest, most noble man I’d ever met, and I loved him.

He stared at me. My cheeks heated, and I started to babble. “If you don’t feel the same, it’s fine. Being with you is enough – more than enough. But you deserve to know how I feel, and that – that I don’t think I’ll be getting over you, Nico of the Angels.”

With a suddenness that startled me, he darted in and grabbed my hand, and he pulled me into a shadow. Everything went dark, and there was a cold, squeezing sensation, a feeling of movement, and then we were in a different place.

When I looked around, I found that we were in a large, circular parlor of some kind. A little light came through the windows and, I realized, the ceiling. I looked up and was amazed to see that most of the roof was windows that had been shaped into a huge flower, a lotus blossom. The Angel Lights shone through it.

Nico stepped away from me and crouched down near an open fireplace. There was wood laid in it, and in a few minutes, Nico had lit a fire. The parlor wasn’t cold, only cool; my feet were warm. When I stooped down and touched the floor, it was heated.

“There are pipes carrying hot steam from underground just under the flagstones,” said Nico. “It keeps this place warm, and I have the staff keep it clean and the roof cleared in case I want to stay here.”

“This is the Lotus House,” I said, understanding. This was the place Nico had spent most of his childhood. I could see two doors leading out either side of the parlor, presumably to other rooms in the house. There was a comfortable-looking couch and other furniture laid out around the room. Near me, though, was a nest of pillows and blankets. I could picture Nico lying in the makeshift bed, watching the Angel Lights through the windows overhead.

Nico nodded. “Yes. My memories of my mother are dim, but most of them revolve around this place. Bianca and I lived here after her death, even though the queen said we could come to the palace. This house . . . it was our refuge. I avoided it for a time after Bianca’s death, but I missed it. In a way, it’s the only place I feel at home.”

“I’m honored to be here, then,” I said, and I was.

Nico stepped closer, his mesmerizing eyes holding mine. “I’ve never brought a lover here. Never even thought to.” He unhooked his cloak and threw it over a chair. “They were all men I could have short relationships and part with without regrets.” He shed his boots. “But not you, Will Solace. I don’t think I’ll be getting over you anytime soon, either. I’ve feared getting attached to a lover.” He unbuckled his doublet and placed it with his cloak. “I’m attached to you, Will. I’ve fallen in love with you, and it’s a little terrifying.”

I closed the remaining space between us. “It’s a little scary from my side, too.” I leaned in, pressed my forehead to his. “As long as you want me, though, I’m yours.”

He kissed me, then, and there was no more talk. We made love under the Angel Lights, sharing pleasure, savoring each other, body and soul.

When it was over, I lay back against Nico, watching the Angel Lights dance. I stroked my fingers down one of his “tattooed” arms.

“What does it feel like?” I asked.

“It’s . . . uncomfortable when I perform the rites and absorb them,” he said. “Not really painful, but not pleasant. That fades quickly, though. I’m seldom aware of them; they have a sort of presence, but I’ve long since gotten used to it. They’re quiescent right now, sleeping while they’re not needed.”

“You’re amazing,” I murmured.

Nico was quiet for a moment. “You don’t even see it, do you? How amazing you are. I’ve never met anyone I couldn’t intimidate, up to and including my own father. Not until you.”

I looked up at him. “Reyna intimidates me.”

“She intimidates everybody. The point is . . .” He sighed. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known. Very much unlike a typical Hadean. You have a warmth about you that no one else in my life has, save only for Hazel. You’re kind, and you’re stronger than I think you know.” His fingers trailed down my arm. “The Hadean king is traditionally known as an avatar of justice. Mercy plays little part here. You, though – you’re pure mercy.”

“I think we worked pretty well the other day, when you realized the woman was dying and I could heal her,” I said. “You don’t think of yourself as merciful, but an unmerciful ruler wouldn’t have cared that a merchant’s wife was dying. And the people here love you. I’ve seen it.” I hoped he would believe me. “It’s like . . . I had this vision of Hades as being cold and harsh. And it can be, but it’s also beautiful like nothing else I’ve seen. Your people take care of each other. They have to. I think you’re a lot like the place you’re going to rule one day. You’ll be a great ruler when that day comes. I know it.”

I felt his lips press against the crown of my head. “So, you like Hades?”

“I do. In spite of the fact that the skin on my hands is cracking.”

Nico shifted, moving until he and I were looking at each other. “Will . . . would you ever consider being a prince’s consort?”

My heart leaped in my chest, and I felt like bursting into laughter from the sheer joy of it. Nonetheless, I couldn’t resist teasing him a little. “I don’t know, Percy and Jason aren’t really my types . . .”

Nico pinched my arm lightly. “This prince.”

There was only one answer. “I would like nothing more than to be this prince’s consort.”

Nico kissed me with a tenderness that stole my breath. “Then I’m officially courting you. Tomorrow is Hazel’s wedding, and she deserves to have the day, but the day after tomorrow, we’ll tell my father. Be warned, he will be difficult, just to make sure I’m serious. Try not to take it personally.”

I wasn’t looking forward to it, but it was necessary. “Would you mind if I told Mama?”

“Would she kill me for not letting you?”

“Probably.”

“Okay, then.” We both laughed, and Nico snuggled into me with a sigh. “The Pythia said I’d find my place in the sun. I think . . . that may be you.”

The House Apollo sigil was the sun. I wondered if Nico was right. I hoped he was. “You’ll always have a place with me, Nico. Always.”

We fell asleep in each other’s arms.

***

Hazel’s wedding was the following day. She got married in Queen Persephone’s Garden, which meant everyone had to wear heavy winter clothes. Fortunately, the ceremony was short. Hazel looked absolutely beautiful in her gold-and-silver gown, and Frank actually managed to keep it together for most of the ceremony.

Afterward, there was a reception and celebration in the grand ballroom. Nico and I danced together openly, not hiding how we felt about each other. When I stepped away to get some air while Nico danced with the bride, Mama approached.

“How are things going with the prince?” she asked. There was a tinge of anxiety in her voice. She didn’t want me to get my heart broken.

I smiled at her. No better time than the present. “He’s asked to court me.”

She squealed as quietly as she was capable of, not wanting to draw undue attention. “Oh, Will, I’m so happy for you.” She hugged me. “Although it seems to me that you two have been doing plenty of ‘courting’ already.”

“Don’t get naughty.” I kissed the top of her head. “I love him, Mama.”

“That’s been obvious to me for a long time.” She sighed. “Understand, though, I may not visit you during the winter.”

I laughed. Mama hated cold weather. “Nico says summers here are short, but beautiful. You’ll always be welcome with us.”

She hugged me harder.

***

The next day, Nico asked for a meeting with his father and the queen. Hazel and Frank were secluded for their honeymoon, but Nico had already told her he was courting me.

“She was getting emotional about me having ‘no one,’ so I told her. She approves,” he said with an affectionate roll of the eyes. He sounded casual, but his grip on my hand was a little too tight. He was nervous about talking to King Hades and Queen Persephone. So was I.

The meeting was in a warm sitting room with a window overlooking the Styx. Both the king and the queen looked surprised at my presence, but they masked it in a moment.

“Son, Sir William, welcome,” said King Hades in his deep voice. “Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink?” He waved his hand, indicating a silver tea service and a decanter of wine.

Nico and I both accepted glasses of wine. I needed one to steady my nerves.

When we were settled, King Hades gave us a long, cool look. “So, my son, why did you ask for this meeting?”

I was sure he had already guessed, but there was protocol to be followed.

“Father, my queen,” began Nico, “I have – I wish to court Sir William.” He looked over at me. “There is no one I would rather have as my consort. He is a knight of the Empire and a member of one of the high noble houses. More than that, he is a man of high character. I believe he will make a perfect King Consort. I would ask for your blessing in this matter, Father.”

“Hmm.” King Hades sat back, steepling his fingers. “There are other, more eligible bachelors who would gladly be your suitors, son.”

“Who?” asked Nico. “I know of Mitchell of House Aphrodite, Lord Malcolm of House Athena, and Ellis of House Mars, but because of recent royal marriages, they are ineligible. House Apollo has as high of a standing as either House Aphrodite or House Mars.”

“Lord Cecil of House Hermes has recently come of age,” the king pointed out.

“But King Consort Paul of Neptune is of House Hermes. You know the political considerations, Father. Furthermore, while Lord Cecil is a fine young man, the simple fact of the matter is that I prefer Sir William.” He looked over at me again. “He’s the man I love. We’ve had enough of war; we need a healer now. Sir William will help us into a kindlier age.”

King Hades turned his penetrating stare on me. “Sir William, however, was not born into a noble house.”

“But he is a noble man,” countered Nico. “His father was a powerful healer, just as Sir William is. The family Solace is an old one; the name Solace was given them by the first Lord Apollo in gratitude for their service. I have been researching his family and have the proof here.” Nico produced a scroll, which he laid on the table. “Further, the law makes no distinction between those born into a house and those adopted into it. He is a full member of House Apollo, with all the prestige that implies.”

“And what say you, Sir William?” the king asked me, turning his eyes on me again.

I tamped down my nerves and faced the king steadily. “Sire, I love your son. I have loved him since I met him in the field hospital. He is . . . the best man I have ever met. It would not matter to me if he was the lowest peasant; I would still be honored to call him my husband. I will do everything in my power to make him happy. I’m willing to swear it on the Styx itself.”

King Hades absorbed this for a long, silent moment before speaking again. “Are you certain, my son, that another might not suit you and your position in life better? Paolo of House Hebe-”

There was a sudden clunk as Queen Persephone forcefully set her goblet down with an impatient sigh. “House Hebe is a minor house without a tenth of the prestige of House Apollo. You’re being stubborn just for the sake of being stubborn now. Do you really want the prince to have a marriage like-” She stopped herself, looking down. After a moment, she picked up her goblet again and took a quick sip of wine. “Besides, House Apollo will give us a favorable trade agreement, and the gods know we can always use sun crystals.”

King Hades seemed thrown by her intervention, and I could tell Nico was surprised as well. He recovered first and spoke to his father with new confidence.

“Father, I am not asking for your permission to court Sir William; I’m asking for your blessing,” he said. “I intend to court him in any case, and after a year, if he will have me, I intend to marry him, whether you approve or not. I have that right, as heir to the throne. But your approval would mean a great deal to the both of us.” He nodded at Queen Persephone. “As would yours, my queen.”

There was a pleased glint in King Hades’s eyes, though his expression did not change. “Well, then, if you believe this course of action is best, I will trust your judgment. Sir William, if you can make my son happy, I will be pleased to have you as my son-in-law.”

“I’ll do everything I can to make your son happy, Sire.” I bowed my head. “I’m honored by your approval.”

“Then you have my blessing as well,” said the queen. “May your courtship be successful, and your marriage happy.”

I understood something, then, looking at Queen Persephone and the deep sadness behind her royal mask. Nico had never spoken of her in an especially negative way, even though I knew she hadn’t made his life any easier. He’d chosen compassion over bitterness. And given what she’d contributed to this conversation, it struck me that she did care, in her own way. Enough, anyway, to hope that Hazel and Nico had marriages happier than her own.

I bowed my head to her. “Thank you, my queen.”

She toyed with her goblet. “I suppose, then, that the next step is a private dinner with Lord Apollo. Do bring your mother as well, Sir William. It’s traditional for the mothers to meet.”

We talked a little longer, mostly about the logistics of the private dinner, and then Nico and I left. To our mutual amusement, we both paused spontaneously for deep breaths outside the sitting room door.

“I think it went well,” said Nico, laughing a little out of sheer relief.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

He took my hand, and we walked through the palace halls together. I caught Nico stealing a glance at me, and he smiled.

“She’s softened a lot in the past few years,” he said, as if reading my thoughts about Queen Persephone. “We kind of had it out around the time I berated my father into joining the war. I told her that while I was sorry for her disappointment about the way her life had turned out, I was even sorrier that she couldn’t find a little pity in her heart for the children who’d never asked to be part of this mess. It’s possible I added a few swear words.” He shrugged. “But whatever I said, it worked. She personally took over Hazel’s education, and they actually have a relationship now. Not terribly warm, but it’s something, anyway.”

I squeezed his hand. “I hate to keep repeating myself, but you really are amazing, Nico of the Angels.”

He leaned up and kissed me. “As are you, Will of the Sun.”

***

Our courtship played out over the next year in an annoyingly distant, yet still magical manner. We exchanged letters while we were apart, but we were able to spend time together as well. Queen Poseidon hosted a grand celebration for the end of the war, as did Emperor Jupiter, and both of us went to those. He visited me in the Summerlands, staying for a month, and I spent part of the summer in Hades.

And then, finally, our wedding day came. We married, as Hazel had, in Queen Persephone’s garden. Hazel stood up as Nico’s honor attendant, holding our most special guest in her arms.

Hazel and Frank’s daughter had been born just a month before the wedding, and her Naming Day celebration took place the previous day.

Princess Solange of Hades would be queen one day. Hazel had been deliberate in her choice of names. “Sol” for the sun, and also a reference to my family name; and “ange” for “angel.” Sun-angel. It was Hazel’s way of announcing that Solange was our child as well as hers, as Nico’s heir. The name was Aphroditan, too, an oblique nod to Hazel’s own heritage.

Nico doted on his niece, but he’d pulled me aside to ask me to never let him favor her, should she have siblings. I agreed readily. I hoped she’d grow up with a large family, as I had, and I promised Nico that we would love them all equally.

It was a royal wedding, of course, which attracted the Great and Good, but we didn’t care about that. I cared that our friends and family were there – Percy and Annabeth with their son Lukas, Jason and Piper (who was just beginning to grow a bump on her belly), Leo and Calypso, Hazel and Frank, Lord Apollo and my foster siblings, Reyna, and, of course, Mama.

Mama sang at the reception as Nico and I danced. Outside, the Angel Lights danced with us. Even looking back on it years and years later, it was a perfect moment. I had my prince, and he had me.

“My Angel,” I whispered to him.

And he whispered back, “My Sun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big cabbages actually are an Alaska thing. Seriously. The bigger ones can fill a whole wheelbarrow. That's a lot of coleslaw.
> 
> A large cabbage to those who spot the "Sandman" (Neil Gaiman) reference herein.
> 
> Thanks for reading this! And now, because I'm me, I have to write Nico's side of the story. *Sigh* I do make my life difficult. Stay tuned for "Will of the Sun."


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